


Hakuouki: One Shots of the Collecting Blossoms

by CrystalMystery



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blind Date, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Fury/Rasetsu Chizuru, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon AU, Romance, Sen Route, Twin Swap AU (Chizuru Nagumo and Kaoru Yukimura), What-If, writing prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 02:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21366619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalMystery/pseuds/CrystalMystery
Summary: A collection of Hakuouki One Shots, featuring several different pairings and characters.
Relationships: Harada Sanosuke/Yukimura Chizuru, Hijikata Toshizou/Yukimura Chizuru, Iba Hachiro/Yukimura Chizuru, Ibuki Ryunosuke/Kosuzu, Okita Souji/Yukimura Chizuru, Saitou Hajime/Yukimura Chizuru, Sakamoto Ryouma/Yukimura Chizuru, Senhime/Yukimura Chizuru, Souma Kazue/Yukimura Chizuru, Toudou Heisuke/Yukimura Chizuru
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harada and Chizuru's son is in love. Harachi. OC/OC.

Chizuru and Sanosuke watched as their oldest son Shigeru handed a flower to a Chinese girl around his age named Juan Lin. Juan smiled as she accepted the flower and Shigeru’s face turned red. They had not been introduced to Juan yet but Shigeru talked about her often. 

Chizuru and Sanosuke smiled at each other knowingly before they walked up to their son and his crush.

“Shigeru, are you going to introduce us to this lovely young lady?” Sanosuke asked as they reached the young couple.

Shigeru, having briefly forgotten his family was with him, jumped when his father spoke. “Ah, yes of course. Otou-San, Oka-San, this is Juan Lin.” 

“Nice meeting you.” Juan spoke, to their surprise, in Japanese and bowed to them in greeting.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Juan-chan. Shigeru-kun has told us so many things about you.” Chizuru gave the girl a smile and she smiled in turn, her eyes flickering over to the boy beside her. Shigeru grumbled something and averted his eyes from Juan, she giggled. 

“Well, you probably already know who we are but I’m Sanosuke Harada and this is my beautiful wife Chizuru.” Chizuru flushed at her husband’s introduction, he said things like that often but they never failed to make her heart flutter, no matter how many times she heard him say it. “It’s nice to finally meet the girl my son likes so much.”

“I see you know Japanese, Juan-chan. You’re very good at it.” Chizuru noted, Juan wasn’t fluent but Chizuru didn’t expect her to be. She’d get there soon though with how well she was communicating in Japanese. 

“Thank you. Wanted learn for Shigeru.” Juan smiled brightly, she had tried hard to learn Shigeru’s native tongue, she was really happy his mother was impressed with her effort to do so.

“Eh, really? How come we could already communicate just fine?” Shigeru had known Juan was learning Japanese but he hadn’t known she was learning for him. He didn’t really know why Juan was learning Japanese for him but simply knowing that she was made him really happy. 

“Shigeru know Chinese. I not know Japanese.” Juan wanted Shigeru to be able to communicate with her in Japanese rather than always using Chinese because she wouldn’t be able to understand him otherwise. She had thought being able to do so would make him happy. “Does make you happy, yes?”

“...Y-yes. Thank you very much Juan!” Shigeru was blushing again, as was Juan, they smiled at each other and Chizuru’s lips curled into a smile at the sight. Juan seemed really sweet and they both looked really happy but there was one thing that needed to be talked about.

  
  
  


Chizuru turned to her son. “Shigeru-kun, can I talk to talk to you for a minute.” Chizuru was still smiling but there was an unmistakable serious tone to her voice. 

Shigeru looked confused but nodded his head in agreement. “Sure.” 

“Chizuru, should I come too?” Sanosuke asked his wife before she could lead Shigeru a distance away to talk in private. He had a good idea of what she was going to talk to him about. 

“No, you should stay here. This should be between me and him.” Chizuru shook her head and continued to walk away. Sanosuke hummed but didn’t protest, that sentence all but confirmed what she wanted to talk to Shigeru about. 

Once Chizuru and Shigeru had walked an acceptable distance away from anyone that could potentially overhear, Chizuru sat down and patted the floor next to her, indicating Shigeru to sit beside her. 

Shigeru sat and they sat in silence for a moment until, finally, Chizuru took a deep breath. “Does she know?” She asked quietly.

Shigeru blinked. “Know what?”   
  


“That you’re half demon.” Chizuru kept her gaze pointed towards her hands clenched on her lap. 

“Of course she doesn’t, Okaa-san. You told me to keep it a secret.” Shigeru shook his head, though he knew his mother couldn’t see it with her head bowed and her hair in the way. 

“For the most part, you should.” Chizuru nodded, it could potentially end badly if the wrong kind of person found that out. Even if someone wasn’t necessarily a bad person, well, fear could bring out the worst in you. “Do you trust her?” 

“I do, wholeheartedly.” Shigeru had said that with such conviction that it had almost taken Chizuru by surprise. She smiled but of course Shigeru couldn’t see it. “I know you said I should only tell people I trusted, and I trust Juan, but still… I thought I should get your approval first.”

Finally Chizuru looked up, meeting her son's eyes head on. “You don’t need my approval, Shigeru-kun. Only you can decide if you want to tell her. I don’t know her, you do. So I can’t tell you if she should or should not be given that information.”

“I want to tell her. I want to tell Juan!” Shigeru announced standing up, determined to do just that today. Although he wanted to wait until he was alone with her to tell her, he felt like it was a secret best shared in private even if the only people around were his demon mother and human father, who knew full well what would happen if he had a child with a demon woman.

“I’m glad.” Chizuru stood up and kissed her son affectionately on the forehead, moving some of his hair out of the way to do so. “That you’ve found someone you can feel that way towards.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I met Juan too.” Shigeru smiled widely, his eyes shining with a light that was very familiar to his mother. They shone with love, pure and true, for the girl that was currently talking to his father. 

Tears gathered in her eyes, Chizuru was truly happy her son had found love. She hoped the best for them both. “If…  **if ** it ends badly make sure to tell your father and I.” She stated simply, she doubted it would but the possibility was there and she had to make sure that both she and her son were prepared for that possibility. 

“...I understand.” Shigeru didn’t want to think Juan might react badly, in fact he was certain she wouldn’t, but he knew his mother wanted to be prepared just in case so he agreed. 

“Come on then. I’m sure you’d like to go back to Juan-chan now.” Chizuru smiled at her son, wiping the tears from her eyes, and began walking back to their family. Shigeru rushed past her, eager to get back to Juan, and Chizuru laughed.

“I take it your talk with him went well?” Sanosuke asked, glancing at her as she stopped beside him. 

“I think everything’s going to be just fine. Juan-chan will be a good wife for Shigeru-kun, right, Sanosuke-san?” Chizuru watched the two interact, clearly Shigeru hadn’t told her quite yet but Chizuru had been expecting him to wait until they were alone. Any doubts about Juan that remained vanished as she watched them, it was clear Juan loved Shigeru just as much as he did her. 

“Yeah, I think she will.” Sanosuke placed his arm around her and bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hijikata and Chizuru meet again in the library. Hijichi. Reincarnation/Modern AU

Chizuru released a sigh as she tapped her hand on the table. Her mind was drawing a blank, she had a creative writing assignment to do and couldn’t think of anything to write for it. Granted the assignment wasn’t due for a while but she liked to at least gather some ideas for her assignments soon after she got them. Normally Chizuru had no trouble noting down at least one idea but today? Nothing. 

“Excuse me, miss?” An unfamiliar yet strangely  _ familiar  _ voice spoke. She lifted her head and her eyes met with the eyes of a very beautiful man. A man who’s black hair and purple eyes sparked a feeling of recognition in her but Chizuru didn’t think she had ever met this man before. He was so familiar to her but… he was a stranger.

“Miss?” He spoke again, narrowing his eyes at her. Not in anger, she noted, but perhaps… concern?

“Ah, I’m so sorry! Is there something I can help you with?” Ignoring her thoughts for the moment, she answered him. It would be rude of her to keep him waiting any longer than she already had. 

“Not exactly. I’d just like to sit here. That alright?” He gestured to the empty seat before her. Ah, all the other seats in the area must be taken, she thought. People didn’t tend to ask a stranger if they could sit with them if there were other options. 

“Oh, yes, of course! Please, feel free.” She had no reason to deny him and… she was oddly drawn to this man. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she wanted to be closer to him.

“Thanks.” With that word of gratitude, he pulled the chair that was in front of him out, sat down and began writing in his book. 

Chizuru turned back to her empty word document, as much as she would like to talk to him she didn’t want to bother him, besides she had been hit with inspiration and she just had to get it down. Until now Chizuru didn’t think one man, especially a stranger, could give her so much inspiration upon just seeing them but something about this man made her want to write a tale of a historical romance.

It was embarrassing really to be writing a love story inspired by a man she had just met but she was a writer and she would write whatever she was inspired to, no matter how embarrassing it was. 

Typing the story out on her laptop, Chizuru began to write faster than she ever had before. Her inspiration was vast and strangely specific, she may have been good at thinking up ideas but she usually took much longer than this to actually make them into anything coherent. 

The more she wrote the more personal it felt, the more real, the more she felt like she  _ remembered _ these events. Chizuru shook her head, that was impossible, she reminded herself. She certainly wasn’t alive during the Edo Period and neither was this man in front of her. Unless…

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” The question was out before Chizuru knew it. She had barely had time to process her thoughts before she opened her mouth. The man looked up at her in surprise and she winced. That was a strange question to ask someone out of nowhere like that and, on top of that, she had likely bothered him.

“Reincarnation? I suppose it’s possible, why do you ask?” He looked up raising his eyebrow in question.

“Ah, well… it’s just that I feel like I’ve met you before but I don’t actually remember doing so and I feel like I’d remember if I’d met someone like you before.” Embarrassed, Chizuru blushed and began trying to explain herself in a rush. Once the words were out Chizuru winced again, now she sounded like she was hitting on him. 

“Shouldn’t say things like that. Someone’s gonna take it the wrong way.” Much to Chizuru’s relief he seemed to have realised that she wasn’t trying to hit on him, although Chizuru found herself thinking that she wouldn’t have minded  _ too _ much if he had thought she was. Chizuru shook her head at the thought, she had only just met the man! She couldn’t be thinking like that!

“I’m sorry, I must be bothering you.” Chizuru kept her gaze down, not wanting to look at the man. She knew it wasn’t exactly polite but… She had done nothing but make a fool of herself in front of him.

“Bothering me? Where did you get that impression?” Chizuru blinked and looked up. So she wasn’t bothering him? That was a relief. 

“I’m sorry.” Not knowing what else to say, she apologised again. 

"Stop apologising, you've done nothing wrong." He told her, she bit back the urge to apologise again while she was so flustered. "I'm Toshizo Hijikata. You are?" 

The name didn't surprise her, she knew that was his name, it was that fact that surprised her. She grew more convinced that she knew this man in a previous life. "...Chizuru. Chizuru Yukimura." She bowed as best she could while sitting at a table. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Yukimura.” She nodded, smiling lightly. She had no reason to feel disappointed but for some reason being called Yukimura by this man invoked a strange feeling within her. There was a definite sense of familiarity once more but there was also a feeling of… Disappointment? It was like she wanted him to call her Chizuru instead.

Chizuru shook her head, reincarnation huh? Now was not the time to think about this, she had company and an assignment to complete. Thinking about the possibility (one she was growing more and more convinced of) was only going to distract her. 

"Well I better go. Hope to see you again, Yukimura." Hijikata stood up and walked past her to leave. 

"Um" She called out to him without thinking. She had this urge to tell him not to go but… That would be weird to say. She bit her lip "It was nice meeting you" is what she said instead. 

* * *

From then on Hijikata and Chizuru met up in the library often, eventually exchanging contact details. 

By this point Chizuru knew for a fact that they had been together in a past life. At first that was why she was so intrigued by him but of course she knew 'we were together in a past life' was not a good basis for a romantic relationship. Hijikata, as similar as he was, was also different now. She imagined the same applied to her, though she hadn't paid as much attention to the differences between past her and current her. 

As she spent more and more time with him, Chizuru found herself falling for the Hijikata of the present and once again the two found themselves happily married. 

"Remember when we first met? When you asked me if I believed in reincarnation?" Hijikata asked her the night he had proposed to her. 

"Yes, why do you bring that up?" 

Hijikata smiled at her, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face. "Sorta lied to you back then. I had that thought too." 

"Eh? You mean you remembered me-I mean past me- too?" Chizuru shot up from her lying position, shivering once the cold air hit her. 

Hijikata hummed in response pulling her back down into the warmth provided by his body and the covers. "Yeah. Figured it was best not to mention it. 'Till we got what our relationship of the present would be sorted out at least." 

"I see. That was… probably for the best." She hadn’t brought it up again for the same reason so she certainly couldn't fault him for that decision. She was however a little peeved that he knew she remembered but she had had no idea until just this moment. 

"I'm sorry." He apologised running his hands through her hair. Chizuru sighed, it really wasn't that big of a deal, it really was better to get their present sorted out before they started to talk about their past lives.

"It's fine. I understand."

They shared a kiss. In their past lives Hijikata’s life was limited, thanks to the fury powers, but in their new lives that wasn't the case. They had their whole lives ahead of them and they were happy to spend them together. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> History repeats itself again and again and again. Okichi. Reincarnation AU. Character Death.

“Souji-san! Souji-san! No! Please don’t leave me!” 

She knew this day was coming. Souji was sick and the fury powers had taken away part of his future each and every time he used them. Chizuru knew he wouldn’t live for long, it was just a question of when and how, it was Tuberculosis that had taken his life in the end. Of course, knowing this didn’t make it any easier to accept when the day came. 

“Sou...ji…”

* * *

The next they met years had passed. Chizuru was still a demon in this new life of hers but this time she was aware of her demon heritage from the start, born and raised amongst other demons.

It was a surprise to everyone when she met and fell in love with a human man, while Chizuru did not dislike humans up until that one day she had never left her village. She had met Souji at a human city located near her village and from then on she visited the human city frequently, as much as she wasn't supposed to, in hopes she could run into him once more. She did and they met again and again and again and eventually they fell in love. 

He fell sick again. Not Tuberculosis this time but just as fatal. It was only then they remembered… Once again illness tore them apart.

* * *

The third time they met Chizuru was human. They had been introduced through a mutual friend of theirs who had brought her along one day when he was going to meet up with Souji and some other friends. They didn’t really speak to each other at first both too confused by the strange feelings that overcame them when they looked at each other. A sense of familiarity, happiness and a deep sense of dread. 

Neither understood why they felt this way and so they avoided interacting one on one for months until they had been left alone one day. It was on that day they decided to talk and it was on that day their relationship started, not the romantic aspect of it at that point, but they were no longer just the friend of a friend to each other. 

They had been dating for about a year and had been about to get married when Souji fell ill again. It was then they realised why they had that feeling of dread when they first met, this had happened twice before. They had met and fallen in love… only to be ripped apart far too soon by an illness. A part of both of them must have known this was coming. It hurt to be torn apart… but neither regretted their decision to get together. They’d meet again, there was still hope that one day they’d get to live out their lives together. 

* * *

The fourth time they met, Chizuru was human once again and they had grown up together, living in the same neighbourhood. This time it was her who fell ill. Souji had escaped illness this time but at the cost of it taking the life of the woman he loved instead.

“Souji-san, I’m glad… that… you’re well…” Chizuru had told him, her voice weak, her complexion pale. 

“Why you Chizuru…? It was always me before.” Souji squeezed her hand, she weakly squeezed back. Tears with gathering in his eyes and falling down his cheeks falling onto their hands.

“I know… that’s why I’m glad… You don’t have to... die... this time…”

“No! No! Watching you die is far, far worse! How did you cope with this?!” 

* * *

The fifth time they met they were both demons. Souji was the son of the head of the clan and Chizuru was to be his wife. They had been brought together by an arranged marriage so they had fallen in love after their marriage this time. To their surprise Chizuru fell ill, it was rare for demons to get sick but that didn’t mean they couldn’t. Chizuru had caught a fatal disease that affected demons and passed away. 

“Is this meant to be our fate?” 

How cruel was that if it was? 

* * *

The sixth time they remembered far earlier and decided to break up in an attempt to stop it from happening again. Maybe then they would get to stay together. They would be happy if they could, even if it wasn’t in the way they wanted, it would be worth it. 

...It didn’t work. Chizuru died again. Were they not allowed to be together at all? 

* * *

The seventh time they remembered within days of meeting each other. 

“Ne, Chizuru, maybe we shouldn’t… meet again. If we separate ourselves then…” Souji trialed of, not wanting to continue his suggestion. It sounded desperate even to his own ears but he didn’t want fate to risk losing her to sickness again.

“No… I want to be with you, Souji-san. I love you. Even if this is our fate, it is a fate I will accept so long as I can be with you, if only for a little while. It hurts but… I don’t want to leave you!” 

Souji pulled her close. “I don’t want to leave you either.”

As they expected, Chizuru fell ill and died. 

* * *

The eighth time they got a longer time together, longer than they ever had before. 

"Maybe neither of us will get sick this time." 

Unfortunately fate had something else in store for them. 

"Why?!" Chizuru cried as she hugged Souji close, he was sick again and, again, it didn't look likely he'd get better. "Why does this have to happen?! We just want to be happy!" 

* * *

The ninth time both got sick. At least this time, they thought, they would get to die together. To them, this was a mercy, even though they were dying it felt like a break from their cruel fate. 

* * *

The tenth time they met was in a school named Hakuou Academy. Souji had already been going there for a year when Chizuru started going there the year the school turned co-ed. She was the only girl to attend Hakuou Academy that year. It was throughout their school life they fell in love once more. This time neither got sick, neither died, after a long fulfilling life together they died of old age. 

The cruel, seemingly never ending cycle was finally broken. The nightmare was finally over. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizuru and Saito play in the snow together during their first winter in Tonami. Saichi.

“There’s so much snow.” Chizuru stared at the thick blanket of snow outside of her new home. Chizuru didn’t think she had ever seen that much snow in her life. Of course she knew Tonami got a lot of snow but this was her first time experiencing it for herself. It was one thing to hear about it and another to actually see it. 

“Chizuru?”

“Saito-san, let’s go play in the snow!” Chizuru grabbed her haori and ran out the door, eager to play in all the snow. 

“Chizuru you should wear this.” Saito followed her out placed a scarf around her neck. A scarf she instantly recognised, it was the scarf he used to wear all the time when they still lived in Kyoto before the Shinsengumi switched to western wear. She hadn’t seen it since, she hadn’t known he still had it. 

She looked back at him and gasped. “Saito-san, you should wear it! You aren’t even wearing your haori and it’s freezing out here!” She scolded him trying to hand the scarf back to him and push him back inside to retrieve his haori at the same time. “Besides it’s yours.”

“I’m not cold. I want you to wear it.” Saito wouldn’t budge and pushed her hands away shaking his head in protest. 

“Saito-san, please at least go put on your haori.” Realising he wasn’t going to relent Chizuru wrapped the scarf properly around her neck but gave him a look that told him she wasn’t going to back down on this point. 

“Very well.” Saito smiled and turned to head back inside. 

“I know! I’ll make him a snowman this time! We should make a fort together too.” Chizuru declared. Unlike the last time she had more than enough snow to make several snowmen and a fort with ease and it certainly wasn’t going to melt anytime soon. 

She knelt down and began gathering snow into a ball, she hadn’t gotten very far when Saito returned. “What are you doing?” He had asked, kneeling down beside her. 

“I’m building a snowman. Saito-san, do you want to build one too?” Chizuru smiled up at him and he smiled in turn.

“Sure.” He gathered some snow into a ball of his own. The two built their snowmen individually, Saito quietly listening to Chizuru’s humming as they rolled the snow around in order to create the body and the head of their snowmen. Eventually their snowmen ended up next to each other, Saito had helped place the head on Chizuru’s snowman’s body as she had been having trouble with it so she had told him she’d decorate his for him as thanks. 

Saito watched as Chizuru dug through the snow trying to find enough stones to decorate two snowmen with a soft smile on his face. Eventually she walked back to him a small pile of stones in her hands. 

She got to work arranging the stones in a face and buttons for each snowman. “Done.”

“They look great.” Saito stated simply before grabbing a hold of her hands. “Your hands are cold. We should really go inside now and warm you up.” 

“...You too Saito-san.” Chizuru nodded after a brief pause, they could always make a snow fort tomorrow and she was getting really cold. “We should play in the snow together again, Saito-san. We can build a snow fort or make some snow bunnies or snow angels.” As they walked back to their house Chizuru eagerly listed of the things they could do, Saito listened to her quietly until she was finished.

“Yes, I’ll be looking forward to it.” Saito smiled down at her and she smiled in turn. Tonami was their home now and while they had been made aware of how brutal Tonami winters were they were happy to call Tonami their home regardless of how harsh the winters got. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizuru Nagumo and Kaoru Yukimura discuss demons, humans and friendship. Twin Swap AU.

“Are demons and humans really that different?” Chizuru asked her brother, tilting her head in confusion. She didn’t think so. She wondered why her brother, who had grown up around humans, seemed to think so. 

“Of course we are! Demons are superior in every way, humans are heartless! They are the ones that killed everyone remember?!” 

“But… demons can be just as heartless.” Chizuru told him quietly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She had chosen to stay with the Nagumo Clan, chosen not to escape when the opportunity arose, she had made that decision and she would stick with it but it hurt. They were cruel. They were heartless. While it may have been a different kind of cruelty to the humans that had massacred their clan they had proven to her without a doubt that demons and humans could be equally as cruel but that also meant… “And humans can be just as kind.” 

“What are you talking about?” Kaoru had lost some of his earlier fire but he still didn’t want to relent to the idea that maybe humans weren’t as bad as he was trying to make himself believe. 

“I mean the Shinsengumi are nice aren’t they?” Chizuru told him tilting her head, her eyes moving over to look at the room some of said Shinsengumi men were currently situated. “You wouldn’t like them if they weren’t.” 

“You’re wrong! I don’t like them! I’m just staying with them so I can get revenge on the men who massacred our clan.” 

“Really? Then why do you seem so happy when you’re with them?” Chizuru asked him, she had seen him interacting with the Shinsengumi and he had seemed so happy. She could see it in his eyes, she could see it in his smile. Her brother may not have noticed or may not have been willing to admit it but the Shinsengumi truly made him happy. 

“…I don’t.” His denial didn’t sound believable even to his own ears. He knew deep inside that they did make him happy but he didn’t want to admit to that. He still detested humans, he would never admit that some of their kind made him happy. “I suppose they… aren’t as bad as most humans.” That, at least, he could admit to. 

“I see. That’s good.” Chizuru smiled, if her brother was willing to admit that much than she was confident that he would eventually admit they were his friends. She was glad that Kaoru had such wonderful people he could rely on. 

“But I don’t like them!” Kaoru reiterated. “I can’t.” The words came out so quietly that Chizuru wondered if she was even supposed to hear it, perhaps Kaoru had never intended to say them at all, she couldn’t say for sure.

“You can’t?” Chizuru asked. Kaoru’s eyes widened and he looked away, he didn’t answer her question but Chiziru hadn’t really expected him too. She wondered if the reason Kaoru was so determined to keep up this hatred of humans was because he felt it would be some kind of betrayal to their clan if he didn’t hate them. 

“…Just forget I said that.” Kaoru muttered and with that he turned and walked away. Chizuru watched him go, deciding it best to leave him alone for now. Chizuru smiled, she was sure everything was going to be just fine. 

“Okaa-sama, Otou-sama, are you watching? Nii-sama seems happy with the humans, if there’s any way you can, please let him know it’s okay to feel that way. The Shinsengumi are truly good men and they have been good friends to my brother.” Chizuru turned to the door the aforementioned men were behind and smiled. “Thank you. All of you. Nii-sama is afraid to admit it but you have all made him truly happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a lot shorter then intended but I think it turned out well. I love the Yukimura twins and the Twin Swap AU is an exciting one to explore. It’s fun to look into how Chizuru would have dealt with the Nagumo Clan and how Kaoru would have turned out if he had never gone to the Nagumo Clan. Hence this short oneshot on their views on humans and demons and the Shinsengumi.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Momoirobara wants to evolve into Booster but there's one problem. Pokemon AU.
> 
> In this AU Chizuru's parents were killed by a Fire Type Pokemon leaving Chizuru afraid of them. In this oneshot Shotsuren is mentioned. Shotsuren in this AU is an Aurorus that originally belonged to their parents, Kaoru has a Tyrantrum who also originally belonged to her parents. 
> 
> This oneshot was moved here having originally been a seperate oneshot.
> 
> I'm using the Japanese names for the Pokemon in this oneshot. Booster=Flareon, Eievui=Eevee, Bangiras=Tyranitar.

I stopped and stared. In the window of a shop a Fire Stone was displayed. I wanted it. I’d always wanted to evolve into a Booster and that stone would allow me to do so.

...But… I couldn’t. Chizuru, my beloved trainer and dear friend, she was afraid of fire types. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me. I could always evolve into something else, as a Eievui I had lots of options, but if I did there was no going back. I don’t think I’d be able to deal with that. 

“Momoirobara?” Chizuru called out to me and I snapped out of my reverie. She was standing a short distance away, looking at me in concern. I ran over to her, a smile on my face to reassure her, and gently pushed her leg with my head to indicate I was ready to go. 

“Momoirobara!” My ears perked as I heard Chizuru calling out for me. She was back! She had forgotten something and told me to wait here while she went to retrieve it. I had tried to go with her of course but she insisted that I, and the rest of the team, stay here and eat our dinner. 

She walked up to me and knelt down scratching my chin, I leant into her hand happy with the attention. “Momorobara I have a surprise for you.” She told me and I blinked in response. A surprise? She reached into her bag and pulled out… a Fire Stone. A Fire Stone! She brought me a Fire Stone! Why? She was afraid of Fire Types! 

I shook my head, backing up. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me. She gave me a soft, reassuring smile. “This is… what you want isn’t it? I want you to be happy. Please, don’t worry about me.” 

I frowned at her, unsure. I wanted to be a Booster yes but she would be frightened if I did. That fear wasn’t going to magically disappear just because she had a Fire Type. 

“You’re worried about my fear aren’t you? It’s true that it’s going to be… hard but I will be fine.” She gave me a weak smile. “Besides it’s about time I got over that fear isn’t it?” I could tell she was trying to make a joke but her shaky voice gave away how scared she was, just at the thought of it. 

I stepped forward. Chizuru was terrified. Terrified but resolved. She had made her decision and so I honoured it. I placed my paw on the Fire Stone and I evolved. My body became larger, warmer, fluffier. I felt fire swirling throughout my body. I was a Fire Type now, a Booster, just like I always wanted. 

I smiled up at her, Chizuru had completely frozen in place. I stayed still, any sudden movements wouldn’t help the situation. She took a deep breath and forced her hand to move forward it didn’t get very far before she froze again. She sighed. “I’m sorry , I can’t do it.”

With her eyes closed I moved back, giving her some space. It was okay. I understood. It would take her a while to get used to me like this, I would be patient and wait for her because I knew Chizuru and she would succeed.

* * *

Several days had passed since then and Chizuru continuously tried her best. I was out of my Pokeball the whole time during this period so she could get used to having a Fire Type around. 

The furthest she had gotten over these days was touching my head but she had recoiled, after an inopportunely timed sneeze (that sent out embers) on my part, and ended up pushed against a tree that had been a short distance away from her. “I’m sorry.” I heard her say quietly, her voice shaking, tears gathering in my eyes. “I’m sorry…”

She had ended up back at square one after that. I could tell she was starting to get a little frustrated with herself. 

“It’s just so frustrating!” I heard her exclaim. I guess she hadn’t noticed me return. “I know she would never hurt me but…I can’t help it! No matter what I try this feeling just won’t go away!” 

I cried out to her. She jumped and turned around. ‘It’s okay. Take your time. You can do it. You’re strong.’ I tried to tell her this. Of course I knew she couldn’t understand what I was trying to say but I had to try. Chizuru had nothing to apologise for, she had done nothing wrong, and I believed in her. I believed that she would be okay, just like she said she would be on that day.

Chizuru blinked. She blinked again. Her lips curved in a small, shaky but genuine smile. “Thank you.”

* * *

The next day I was awoken by Chizuru. She was standing a distance away, as I expected her to be, but she had a smile on her face and a determined glint in her eyes. 

“Good morning, Momoirobara. I am going to be okay. It might not be today or tomorrow or this month, it might not even be this year but someday I won’t be afraid of Fire Types anymore.” 

And I knew it to be true because Chizuru is the strongest person I know. 

From that day on, Chizuru got better and better around me. Soon enough we were back to being able to sit side by side without Chizuru freezing up. She still couldn’t touch me but that day would come soon enough. 

* * *

Then one day we got separated during our travels by, yet another, unfortunate run-in with a Bangiras. I knew when you get lost you’re supposed to stay where you are but I couldn’t just sit here and wait, it was clear that the Bangiras hadn’t followed me so it must have followed Chizuru. It was possible she’d gotten away or Shotsuren had taken care of it, I just couldn’t stay here while Chizuru could be in danger! 

I had been searching for a while when a familiar voice called out from behind. “Momoirobara!” My ears twitched and I almost stumbled over my feet in my haste to turn around Chizuru was standing a short distance away. 

I began running. As did she. In my excitement I jumped right into her arms, forgetting for a moment, that this might not go over well with her as we were now, she still struggled with Fire Types after all. She froze. I froze. To my surprise, Chizuru didn’t scream or drop me or even flinch, instead her eyes widened and glistened with tears. I cried out, worried but it turns out I had no need to be. She hugged me closely and I felt her shake her head. 

“It’s alright. I’m happy.” I couldn’t see her face but I knew she was smiling. This situation must have been the final push she needed, Chizuru was no longer afraid of Fire Types. Or at least she was no longer afraid of me, it had yet to be seen whether or not she’d be afraid of other Fire Types. If she was though, I knew she’d be okay. Someday Chizuru wouldn’t be afraid of Fire Types at all.

“Booster!” I nuzzled into her as she fell to the ground, my tail swishing happily behind me.

“I love you, I’m sorry this took so long.” I shook my head, I didn’t mind. 

‘I love you too!’ Chizuru may not have been able to understand my language but I knew she’d understand what I was trying to tell her. 

She moved back slightly and I could see her smile. “You know, we’ll have to change the sticker on your Pokeball, it’s still a Eiuvui. It’s about time we changed it to Booster, right?”

I nodded my head in agreement. “Booster!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The way you said “I love you.” 6: On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair. This wasn’t requested but I had a (very short) idea for it. Heichi.

Heisuke was like the sun, Chizuru thought, as she watched her husband sleeping in her lap as the warm sun shone down upon them. 

She'd told him that once, he had disagreed saying it was her who was like the sun, not him. "Then we're both the sun!" She had said in response. "I'm yours and your mine."

"I love you Heisuke-kun, my warm sun." She whispered running her hands through her sleeping husband's hair. 

"Umph. Love you too." Heisuke responded, his voice groggy and his eyes still shut. He had heard her and had offered a response, half asleep as he was. "Chizuru, my shining sun." 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizuru reminisces. A oneshot about a possible Sen route. Senchi.

I smiled as I kneeled in front of the small shrine I had built for the Shinsengumi. It wasn’t much but each and every one of them had been very, very important to me I had to give them something. I missed them.

I looked up as I heard someone come up beside me. A smile spread across my face when I saw who it was. “Osen-chan.” I was very happy with Osen-chan living in Yase Village. There was a time when I never thought I would be living amongst demons, I had always seen myself as human after all, it had been strange at first. Demons lived in such a different way to humans.

The road to get where I was now was a long, painful one but I would not trade what I had now for the world. Living with my love in peace was the greatest bliss in the world. 

_ “Chizuru-chan, would you like to stay in Yase village now?” Osen-chan had extended this offer to me before but I had... well, I didn’t refuse but I didn’t accept either. At the time I had told her I wasn’t ready to make such a decision yet, she had told me that the option would always be open to me if I decided I wanted to stay in Yase in the future. _

_ “Osen-chan I… have some things I want to do first. I want to find my father and I would also like to say goodbye to the Shinsengumi.” I wanted to stay with her but I also wanted to talk to my Father, I had a lot of things to ask him. The Shinsengumi were my friends, I wanted to see them at least one more time, and besides I had to tell them about Inoue-san.  _

_ She nodded. “Ah I see then I will take you to Osaka Castle, the Shinsengumi should still be there.” Sen stood up followed by Kimigiku-san, who was no doubt going to accompany us. _

_ “Thank you.”  _

_ “As you know, we too, are searching for your Father. If you would really like to help then I will not stop you.” Osen-chan had told me as we began walking out of Osen-chan’s home in Yase village to make our way over to the Shinsengumi in Osaka Castle. _

* * *

_ “Hijikata-san, everyone. I… would like to leave the Shinsengumi.” I took a deep breath and told them this after they had expressed their relief I was alright and had informed of everything that had happened. Apparently Yamazaki-san had been gravely wounded in battle and the supreme commander Lord Yoshinobu had departed for Edo, the Shinsengumi would be following soon.  _

_ Silence fell over the room. “I see. Yukimura, you’ve been a big help. Be safe.”  _

_ I smiled. “Thank you. I… I’ll miss you all.”  _

_ It was in that moment, it hit me. I’d probably never see them again. Tears gathered in my eyes. “We’ll miss you too, Chizuru.”  _

That didn’t turn out to be the case, I had reunited with several of the Shinsengumi over the course of my journey with Osen-chan to find my Father. They fought impossible odds and went on strongly. I was proud of them. Proud to be able to say “I knew the Shinsengumi, they were very dear to me. Each and every one of them was a great warrior and a wonderful man.” 

…Only a few of them survived. Saito-san, Nagakura-san, Souma-kun, Shimada-san, they were the only survivors. 

Inoue-san had died protecting me during the battle of Toba-Fushimi and Yamazaki-san died from his injuries on the way to Edo. Kondou-san had been executed, beheaded and then put on display at Itabashi. Okita-san had eventually succumbed to his Tuberculosis. Harada-san had been killed in action during a battle with the Shogi Company in Ueno. Heisuke and Sanan had died too, we weren’t quite as sure how. Nomura-kun died in the battle of Miyako Bay. Hijikata-san had died in the battle that pretty much ended it all, the Battle of Hakodate. 

I had lost both my Father and my brother too. My Father had raised me, he had been kind and I loved him very much but he had committed great sins and he was hurting many. My brother I hadn’t even known I had until Kaoru himself told me, I hadn’t gotten a chance to get to know my brother. Kaoru had done a lot of bad things, he wanted to see me suffer but at the same time he was my brother and he had suffered a great deal. I hoped he was at peace now with our family in the afterlife.

_ “Chizuru, I am your brother.” Osen-chan and I made our way to my old home in Edo hoping to find a clue as to my Father’s whereabouts, we hadn’t actually expected to find much, or anything really, of note but much to our surprise who did we find there but the man himself, accompanied by a familiar looking man. Kaoru Nagumo was standing in front of us, no longer wearing female clothes, apparently he had been a man all this time, a man who also happened to be my… _

_ “Brother…?”  _

_ “Yes, Chizuru. If our appearances aren’t enough proof, you need only look at our swords.” With that Kaoru pulled the sword at his waist out of its sheath. It looked just like mine. “See my Daitsuren is the partner to your Shotsuren, these swords were passed down through our family for generations and eventually they made their way to us.”  _

_ “Father, is that true?” Unwilling to believe him, I turned to my Father. After all, I had never once been informed of a brother.  _

_ “It is. This is your brother, Chizuru. You were separated years ago.”  _

_ “Why… Why did you never tell me this before?” Why had he never told me anything before? Father had been keeping so much from me.  _

_ “You had forgotten. I just didn’t want to trigger that trauma.” I had no way of telling if this was really the case but something about Father’s tone at that moment sounded so sincere.  _

* * *

_ My father and brother were long gone now having easily escaped from us after they had shared their disinterest in stopping what they were doing. I guess this meant they weren’t going to be reasoned with. _

_ “Chizuru-chan, you understand what must happen, don’t you?” Osen-chan asked me, her words went straight to the point, probably because she knew nothing she could have said would soften the blow for me. Her tone however was comforting, as was the hand she rested on my shoulder.  _

_ I took a deep breath. If they couldn’t be reasoned with then they must die. They must be stopped, they simply couldn’t be allowed to continue what they were doing. So many would be turned into monsters, so many more would lose their lives. “Yes. I understand.” This was what had to be done.  _

_ “You don't have to come with me if you don’t want to. Okiku and I will take care of it.”  _

_ While I appreciated her sentiment, I shook my head. “No. I’ll come too.” I couldn’t let Osen-chan and Kimigiku-san do all the work, I wasn’t sure what I could really do to help but I had to do something. “Father and Kaoru are my family, members of my clan, I have to see this through to the end. They are my responsibility.” _

_ Osen-chan smiled. “I thought you’d say that. That is very admirable of you and very strong.”  _

_ That night I dreamt, or remembered I should say, of the Yukimura clan’s destruction.  _

* * *

_ It took us a while to track down Father and Kaoru, we finally found them holed up in Shirakawa Castle along with a massive army of Furies. How many have suffered to create this army? How many have been killed to uphold it?  _

_ While attempting to fight our way through the Fury army we were separated from Kimigiku-san, it was only Osen-chan and I now. The Furies were relentless, there were so many and I could tell Osen-chan was getting tired.  _

_ “So you did come, Chizuru.” Finally we had found them, Father and Kaoru stood in front of us, there were no Furies here, at least as far as I could tell.  _

_ I took a breath and opened my mouth. I had to tell Father and Kaoru what I had remembered, I may not be able to get through to them but at the very least I wanted them to know… “I remembered… about what happened to the Yukimura Clan.”  _

_ “I see. I wish you didn’t have to remember such awful events.” Father gazed at me sympathetically, giving me a comforting smile. _

_ “Does that mean you understand now Chizuru?” Kaoru had perked up, his voice sounded hopeful, happy even.  _

_ “...I do.” Kaoru smiled. I spoke again before he could. “Which is why I implore you more than ever, please stop.”  _

_ Kaoru’s smile dropped and his eyes widened. “What?” His voice was shaking, though what was causing it, I had no way to tell for sure. Was it anger or sadness or both?  _

_ “Father, Brother. Do you two really want others to suffer as we have? There is… There is a part of me that does want revenge, I won’t deny that, but the bigger part of me just wants all of this suffering to stop. I just want to live in peace!”  _

_ They were silent and, for a moment, it seemed like they were contemplating it. Any hope I had gained was quickly lost when my Father spoke. “Unfortunately, the peace you want simply won’t come, not without our plan.”  _

_ “You are going to create peace by making everyone suffer? What is a world of peace created on corpses and suffering?” Osen-chan narrowed her eyes at them and pulled out her sword , ready to attack them at a moment’s notice. “Kodo Yukimura, Kaoru Nagumo you have committed many sins but as you are Chizuru’s family I will extend this offer once more. Stop this and I will consider letting you off lightly.” _

_ “Naive. You’re both so naive!” Kaoru exclaimed and pounced forward, sword drawn, heading straight for me. “Chizuru, why won’t you join us?!” _

_ “Oh no you don’t.” I heard Kimigiku-san a mere second before I saw her, she intercepted Kaoru’s strike and drove him backwards. “I am your opponent, I shall not let you through.”  _

_ “Then, Kodo Yukimura, that leaves me as your opponent. Prepare yourself.” In the next moment Osen-chan flew forward, Father quickly intercepted her with a well aimed scalpel.  _

_ Osen-chan gave a cry of pain. “Osen-chan!” I called out, concerned. Of course I knew, as a demon, Osen-chan would heal quickly but even so she was still in pain.  _

_ “I’m alri-huh?” Osen-chan trailed off, her eyes darting towards her wound. She had pulled the scalpel out but she wasn’t healing! _

_ Father laughed madly at our expressions of confusion. “Surprised? That scalpel was coated with a certain poison. A poison that stops even a demon’s healing powers from working correctly.”  _

_ “Urk.” Osen-chan gave a moan of pain as her hand instinctively moved to cover up the wound, I gasped. Was she going to be okay? Osen-chan seemed to know what I had been thinking as she turned to me for a second and gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, it is going to take more than that to take me down.”  _

_ With those words Osen-chan charged forward again but Father simply dodged her attack and threw more scalpels, all of which hit their mark. I had no doubt each and every one of them was coated in the poison Father had mentioned. This was bad, this was really bad. Osen-chan was already exhausted, those injuries and the poison could not have been helping. She’d said she’d be fine but was that true? I looked over at Kimigiku-san still engaged in battle with Kaoru, she seemed to be taking care of herself just fine but it didn’t seem like she was going to be finished fast enough to help Osen-chan. _

_ ...Which meant… I took a deep breath and unsheathed my kodachi. Two things had to be done, stopping my Father and saving the woman I loved. I lunged forward and… _

_ “Ackh.” My Father groaned in pain as my kodachi cut through his flesh into his side. “Chizuru…?” He questioned, shock evident on his face. _

_ “I’m sorry.” That was all I could muster as tears raced down my cheeks. “I’m sorry.” I uttered again as I heard the sound of another sword cutting through flesh and another cry of pain from my Father. I pulled my sword out and fell to my knees as my Father dropped to the ground, no longer able to support his own weight. Vaguely, I noticed Osen-chan had stabbed him through the heart, taking my attack as an opportunity to do so. Osen-chan had finished him off but I had given her the opening. I heard Kimigiku-san come up to us, I guess that must mean she'd defeated my brother. I knew this had to be done but…  _

_ Osen-chan pulled me into her chest and ran a hand through my hair. “It’s over, Chizuru-chan. Let it all out, you can cry now.”  _

_ "Osen-chan, I-I…" Unable to say anymore, I sobbed. Morning the loss of the Father who had raised me, loved and the brother who I never got to grow up with. What would have happened, I wondered, if the Yukimura Clan had never been massacred.  _

Even today, I didn't know the answer to that question. I probably never would, the Yukimura had been massacred and there was no telling what could have happened if it wasn't. After all, there was no way to tell what would happen in our future nevermind a future that… Wasn't going to exist. 

"Chizuru-chan?" I looked over at Osen-chan who gave me a smile. 

"Yes?" 

Osen-chan pecked me on the cheek. "I am going to bed, are you coming? Or would you like to stay a little longer?" 

I shook my head. "I'm coming." 

I was really happy with Osen-chan, if none of this had ever happened then I probably wouldn't be with her right now and all the memories I'd made with her likely wouldn't have happened either. I would be lying if I said there was nothing I wish could have been different but my time with Osen-chan was something I wouldn't change for the world. 

"Osen-chan, I love you." 

"I love you too."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaoru turns Chizuru into a fury in the anime. What if scenario. Canon Divergence. One sided Okichi. Hijichi.

Chizuru coughed as the liquid her brother had forced her to drink went down her throat, when he moved away she fell to her knees and spluttered and spat, trying desperately to get rid of it. Though no matter how hard she tried, she knew it was already too late. After all, she had already swallowed it. 

"Ahhh." Two voices called out to her, one belonged to Kondou, the other was one she hadn't expected to hear. 

"Okita-san?" She questioned quietly, trying to catch a glimpse of him. She didn't have to for long as both he and Kondou moved beside her. 

"Damn it! That Kaoru…" His words trailed off and she took the time to locate her twin, he was nowhere to be found. 

"He's gone. He's not here anymore." Kondou told her, his words were likely meant to be comforting and she appreciated the gesture but… 

Silence fell over the three as Kondou looked down guiltily and Okita glared in the direction Kaoru had left. Chizuru didn't know what to say, she didn’t know what to do. She was a Fury now, which meant… Well, a lot of things. 

"Come on, we can't stay here." Okita stated as he pushed himself up. Slowly, Chizuru and Kondou followed suit. 

* * *

By the time the group of three decided to stop, it was already the next day. Kondou had wanted to stop earlier for Souji's and Chizuru's sakes but they couldn't exactly afford to, not in enemy territory. 

By now Chizuru was looking extremely pale, she seemed to be in quite a lot of pain. Souji just moments prior had fallen to his knees in a coughing fit, it was then that Kondou had decided they'd gone far enough. Even if it was only for a short while, they needed rest.

Chizuru had been easy enough to convince, especially when Souji stepped in, or perhaps she had just been too tired to put up much of an argument. Either way she was now resting against Souji's shoulder, fast asleep. 

"Souji, you should get some sleep. I'll take watch." Souji? Not so much. As Kondou expected, Souji had protested once more. Kondou supposed he would have to take a different approach. He didn't want to but Souji wasn't well, and all this strain was only going to make him worse. "Souji, that wasn't a request."

Souji's eyes widened in surprise. Kondou rarely, if ever, talked to him like that. "... Alright, if that's what you really want." Albeit begrudgingly, he agreed. 

"Excellent! Now lie down, you two are going to be uncomfortable when you awake if you sleep like that." Kondou moved over to them and lightly pushed them down. 

Instinctively, Chizuru curled up to him, adjusting to the new position. Souji's eyes drifted to her and, ever so slightly, his lips curled into a smile. Kondou didn't miss it but he opted not to mention anything. 

* * *

By the time the two had awoken, Hijikata had managed to find them. They weren't sure how exactly but Hijikata always had a sixth sense for these things. 

Souji had had a few words to say to the vice commander of the Shinsengumi the second he awoke. "Why did you leave?! Kondou-san could have been killed while you were gone, looking for reinforcements you didn't even bring back! And if it weren't for you Chizuru-chan wouldn't-"

Having been startled awake by Souji's outburst, Chizuru screamed out. "Okita-san, please don't say anymore!" She didn't want Hijikata to know, she didn't want to add more stress and… She also didn't want him to worry about her, he had far more important things to be doing than worrying about this. 

Of course she knew she likely wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever. It wasn't like her Demon abilities, with being a Fury she had to hide the pain that came with being under the sun and later… bloodlust. Hijikata was an observant man, he would find out eventually. 

Time. She just wanted a little more time to figure out what to do. 

"Yukimura, what happened?" His sharp gaze connected with hers and she looked away. 

"I don't want to talk about it." She told him, her gaze fixed pointedly to the ground.

There was silence for a moment. Chizuru bit her lip. Hijikata sighed. "Alright." 

* * *

It was when they finally arrived at Okita’s hiding place in Sendagaya that Chizuru finally decided to tell Hijikata about what had happened. Okita had told her if she was going to tell him it would probably be best to do so here, since they were the only ones here. He had also mentioned that Hijikata was likely already catching on since she had so much trouble moving during the day. Kondou had added that it was better now than later. They both had brought up good points and so she had agreed to do it.

Kondou had offered to tell Hijikata for her but she had refused. “No, it’s my responsibility. This is about _ me. _So I must be the one to say this.” 

And now the three were standing in front of Hijikata, she hadn’t wanted to tell him alone, preparing to give him the news. Chizuru took a deep breath. “I’m a Fury now.” Perhaps that was a little _ too _ to the point. 

There was silence for a long moment. His eyes narrowed and before she got a chance to explain further he had grabbed hold of her, perhaps more roughly than he had entirely intended. “Why would you drink that?! How did you even get your hands on that shit?!” 

“Let go of her, Hijikata-san!” Okita had stepped in grabbing hold of his wrist and pushing him back. His eyes were cold, an expression Chizuru had never expected him to make for her. “She didn’t drink it willingly.” 

“Well that’s even worse!” Hijikata exclaimed before he took a deep breath to calm himself down some. “Who forced her and why?” 

“It was Kaoru. My twin brother, Kaoru. He said… he said he wants to... make me suffer.” Chizuru spoke quietly as she remembered the look in her twin brother’s eyes. They were definitely crazed but they were also filled with so much anguish. Kondou placed a comforting hand on her back and she looked up at him, she was only able to manage a small smile in return but she was grateful for the gesture. 

"...I see." Hijikata didn't ask for any more information, this surprised her as she was sure he would have wanted to know more about the twin brother she had never mentioned before. "Yukimura, I'd like to continue this conversation in private. 

Chizuru nodded, though admittedly she was somewhat hesitant to agree, still anxious about the whole situation. "I see, in that case Souji and I will leave you to talk." 

"But-" It was rare for Okita to argue with Kondou over anything so it came as somewhat of a shock when he did not immediately agree. 

"Okita-san, really, it's fine." Chizuru reassured him, giving him a shaky smile. "Thank you, both of you, for coming with me for this." She bowed in gratitude, only standing up straight when she heard Okita humph. 

"...Fine." With that single word, Okita turned and left the room. 

Kondou offered her a smile and a comforting pat on the shoulder before he followed suit. “Toshi, be nice to her, she’s been through a lot.” With that he closed the door and they were left alone.

Silence fell over the two for a moment before Hijikata sighed and sat himself on the floor, gesturing for her to do the same. She did, locking her eyes with his, as ready as she could be for whatever was going to say next.

“You understand, now that you’re a Fury, I won’t be able to let you leave the Shinsengumi, yes?” Chizuru blinked but nodded, that wasn’t what she had expected him to say. Why couldn’t he have said that in front of Kondou and Okita? “...I’m sorry.”

“N-no! It wasn’t your fault!” Chizuru exclaimed as soon as she got over the shock that had come with Hijikata apologising to her.

“Still, I’m sorry. We’re in the middle of a war and now there’s no escape for you. On top of that the Shinsengumi promised your protection and we let this happen to you.” 

“I-I don’t want to leave! I... haven’t wanted to in a very long time.” Chizuru shook her head wildly, it didn’t matter if she was a Fury if it meant she could stay by Hijikata and the Shinsengumi until the very end. “And I don’t want to stay because I want your-the Shinsengumi’s protection. I want to stay because I love the Shinsengumi!”

“...” Hijikata didn’t say anything for a long while then his lips curled up into a smile, Chizuru released the breath she had been holding. “How are you feeling?” 

“Huh? Well I’m out of the sun and it’s been a few days so... not too bad.” 

“That’s not what I meant. I mean how are you feeling about being a Fury now?” Chizuru’s eyes widened and she looked away.

“I… I… There’s nothing that can be done… So… I have to deal with it… right…?” Chizuru spoke softly, her head bowed so her eyes, quickly filling with tears, would be hidden from Hijikata’s view. “I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine and she knew Hijikata could probably tell she wasn’t fine but even so she wanted to at least try to reassure him so he wouldn’t worry about her. 

“Chizuru, I don’t want to make you a promise I may not be able to keep, so I won’t say I’ll make everything alright.” Hijikata wasn’t one to mince words and he didn’t do so here, strangely she found this comforting. “But I will say I’ll try.”

“Eh? Hijikata-san you don’t have to! You’re already so busy!” Chizuru exclaimed looking up at him. “I don’t… want to be a burden. I’m not worth it.” 

“I’ve told you before you’re not a burden besides If I didn’t think you were worth it, I wouldn’t have bothered to say anything.” 

The tears gathered in her eyes finally began to fall “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologise when you have nothing to apologise for.”

“I’m so- thank you.” 

As Chizuru cried Hijikata stayed in the room, offering a silent comfort through his presence. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's mermay, this felt appropriate. Kosuzu is a performer who does underwater performances dressed as a mermaid. Somewhat inspired by Misty's underwater show from Pokemon. RyunosukexKosuzu

Shizu, known as Kosuzu to the people who often came to see her, swam around the pool as she danced for her audience. Her eyes never leaving the blue haired man who had been visiting the underwater show for the past few days, occasionally he would look up at her but he would soon turn his gaze back to whatever he was working on. 

Normally, when he stopped at the end of the show, he would leave. Today, however, was different. Today, instead of leaving straight away, he waited for her to change and approached her once she came out.

"Um, excuse me. There's something I'd like to show you." Curious, she nodded her head. She had really been wanting to know what he had been doing. 

He turned what he had been working on over so she could see. It was a picture of her. It was a beautifully done picture of her. It captured her perfectly and not only in appearance. Through that picture she could see her emotions, her personality, who she was. 

"My, such a beautiful picture." People had taken photos and videos of her of course, such a thing came with the job, but all of those paled in comparison to this drawing. She was quite impressed, impressed and touched to think this man had actually taken the time to draw a picture of her. 

“For you.” He pushed the picture closer to her, he wasn’t very polite was he? Very sweet though, Shizu liked him.

“Thank you.” She took the picture with gratitude. “I’ll treasure it.” She’d have to make sure she put it somewhere safe when she got home, she didn’t want it to be ruined. Of course she’d also make sure to put it somewhere she could see it everyday, it was beautiful, she could look at it all day if she could. 

“You’re welcome.” He looked at her for a moment before he moved his gaze away from hers. “I’ll be going now.” He told her abruptly. 

“Oh wait a moment!” Shizu called out to him, pulling out her phone with one hand. “Here, this is my number.” She handed her phone to him and slowly he took it as he pulled out his phone. “You should call me sometime. I’d love to get to know you some more.” 

“Y-yes.” He quickly input her number into his phone, he input something into her phone too, probably his own number. He handed her phone back to her and she looked at the number on the screen and the name it came with. 

“Well then Ibuki-kun, I’ll look forward to seeing you again.” Shizu smiled at him, waved and walked away. “You might already know this but my real name is Shizu Suzuka, please just call me Shizu.” 

She briefly looked back at him as his friends surrounded him, grinning at him teasingly. She watched as his cheeks turned red and he yelled at them, she smiled. Truly, she looked forward to meeting him again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizuru goes to Hijikata’s room to talk about recurring nightmares she’d been having. Minor Canon Divergence (so minor I'm not sure it even technically counts), you’ll see why. Hijichi. 

"Hijikata-san, I'm really sorry to bother you at this hour, but… when you said I could talk to you… Would you mind if I took you up on that offer… Now?" I asked him kneeling in front of his door. I wasn't sure how I talked myself into doing this, if Hijikata-san wasn't asleep he was busy, and I really didn't want to disturb him. But… I really wanted to talk to someone and Hijikata-san had offered. 

The compounds were quiet at this time of night so my ears easily picked up the faint sound of movement from the other side of the door. The door slid open and I looked up, Hijikata-san stood before me, his long hair down, normally I likely would have admired how beautiful his hair was but… 

"Oi, you coming in or not?"

"Y-yes! Thank you so much!" I thanked him a little louder than I had intended, I saw his face twitch slightly at the volume but he didn't say anything. As Hijikata-san had moved aside to let me in, I walked into his room and stood, unsure of what to do now. 

Hijikata-san slid his door closed and sat down on the floor, gesturing for me to do the same. I did and I gazed at the ground as I tried to think of what to say. I felt bad for disturbing him and then making him wait but Hijikata-san waited patiently as I sorted out my thoughts. 

"When I was younger, I had this recurring dream… There was a fire. That was all it was, something about that dream always really freaked me out. I… don't think it was entirely because of the fire."

"And this dream, it came back?" A fair assumption. One that was true. 

"Yes. The first time it was just like those dreams back then but… As the dreams kept happening, more was added to them." 

"The second night, I could smell something. It was an awful smell… Burning flesh, I think." Hijikata-san's eyes widened but he didn't say anything as he waited for me to continue. 

“The third, another smell was added. This time I recognised it immediately... it was blood. On the fourth I heard screaming. Someone was shouting ‘kill, kill, kill’, screams of pain came from all around.” Hijikata-san remained quiet as he listened, though he looked angry now. At me? No, if he was angry at me he wouldn’t still be listening. So maybe what he was hearing about my dream made him angry? 

“And tonight, I saw it. Men with swords and guns, people running, no one was fighting back but they were killed without mercy. Some of the men even continued long after their victim had died. It was a massacre! So many innocent people were killed, men, women, children, it didn’t matter!” I broke off into sobs after that and I heard Hijikata-san moving, to my surprise I felt his hand at the back of my head just before he pulled me into his chest. I cried into his chest for a long moment before I spoke up again. “That must have been what Osen-chan was talking about.” I didn’t bother saying anything more, I didn’t want to. I knew Hijikata-san would understand, so that much was fine. 

“Tonight, I woke up with a tight feeling in my chest. It felt like I was burning from the inside. I… I was so angry!” My jaw clenched as the anger came rushing back. I tried to ignore it as I continued speaking. “...I’d never felt anything like it before.”

“...It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. It’s only natural to feel that way.” It was the first time he’d said anything since I entered his room. I knew he was right but it didn’t help me feel any better, the hate burned, it was all encompassing. It was frightening. Hijikata-san released a sigh as he lay me down. 

“Hijikata-san?” I asked, the action confusing enough to become a momentary distraction from the thoughts swirling around in my head. 

“Do you want to stay here tonight? I know you probably don’t want to sleep right now but it’ll be good for you to try at least.” Hijikata-san told me as he pulled up the covers, I hadn’t realised we had been situated so close to his futon. “If you’d like to talk about this a little more, I’ll listen to everything you have to say. Whenever that might be.” 

“...Thank you.” He was right when he suggested I didn’t want to sleep, I didn’t think I could even if I tried. But… he was also right when he said I should try. Maybe sleeping on it will help clear my thoughts and even if it didn’t sleep is good for your health. I’d lost a lot of sleep these last few nights so the more sleep I got the better, not doing so certainly wouldn’t make anything better. So… I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I winced as the thoughts instantly moved to prevent any hope of sleep. Don’t think about it, I thought to myself, not while you’re trying to sleep. There’ll be plenty of time to think about it tomorrow. When I’m awake. When my thoughts are, hopefully, clearer. For now I just wanted to…

It was then Hijikata-san sighed, he spoke… haiku? Hijikata-san’s haiku? Hijikata-san didn’t really like it when people read his haiku, a shame, I rather liked them. It was surprising to hear him willingly recite them to me. It didn’t take me long to realise he was doing this in an attempt to soothe me as his hand brushed through my hair, I felt myself beginning to relax. As I focused on Hijikata-san’s haiku, the sensation of his hand running through my hair and the warmth emanating from his body. I felt myself falling asleep. “...ank you…” I tried to thank him again but I wasn’t sure if it came out properly and then… I was asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories of the Shinsengumi 2 for Ryouma Sakamoto. Sakachi. Reuploaded to One Shots of the Collecting Blossom.

Should I go in? It might be a better spot to eavesdrop from and I may be able to ask them some more questions about it if I was careful. Maybe I should go talk to Saito-san and Yamazaki-san about that? After all doing such a thing could end badly if I got caught, I was unsure if Saito-san and Yamazaki-san would be able to come to my aid in time if something were to go awry.

“Chizuru?” I jumped and bit down on my lip to prevent a startled yelp from escaping. I turned around and saw exactly the person I was expecting to see. 

Standing up, I glanced cautiously to the room next to me hoping no one inside had heard us out here. “Sakamoto-san?” I whispered, I had been surprised to hear his voice, I hadn’t known he was in Kyoto. 

“Chizuru what are you-” I grabbed his hand cutting him off, we couldn’t talk here, I couldn’t risk getting caught. 

  
“Let’s talk somewhere else okay?” With that I started pulling him towards another, thankfully close by, room. The room I took him to was the one Kimigiku-san had gotten for me so I knew it to be empty. Sakamoto-san gave me a teasing smirk but he didn’t say anything as he allowed himself to be pulled out of the hallway.

I pulled him in the room and hurriedly closed the door, releasing a sigh of relief. I don’t think anyone noticed us, that was good. 

Sakamoto-san chuckled and I turned to look at me. He grinned at me. “That was rather bold of you.” 

I flushed speaking up before he could say anything more. “No! That’s not it! I just-” I cut myself off, I couldn’t tell him why I actually pulled him in here, I was on a mission after all. “Um… I just… wanted to talk to you.” 

“Oh really? You couldn’t have done that out there?” Sakamoto-san questioned me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. 

“We would have been in the way!” I said hurriedly. It was definitely a logical excuse after all we had been in the hallway where people would be trying to walk through. 

“Hmmm, perhaps but why are you dressed like a Geisha?” Sakamoto-san’s tone suddenly turned serious, I froze and my eyes widened, I didn’t have any excuses for that. What could I say that would sound believable? 

Before I could come up with an answer Sakamoto-san continued speaking. “You were spying on them right?” Something in my expression must have told the truth because his expression turned into a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone.”

I hesitated, was it alright to admit that I was? I suppose if Sakamoto-san already knows there isn’t much point in trying to hide it. “...Really?”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” Sakamoto-san nodded and I felt myself relax. He didn’t seem to be lying. If he was going to expose me he likely would have done so already, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop him and I’m sure Sakamoto-san is aware of that. 

“Thank you.” I bowed to him in my gratitude and glanced back to the door leading out of the room. I should probably get back to my job the longer I spend here the higher the chance they leave. “I have to get back now. Goodbye.” 

“Ah, Chizuru. You look really good in that getup.” Sakamoto-san called out to me before I had managed to fully open the door. I was glad my back was turned to him because I was positive my face was bright red, red enough to be seen even through the make-up. 

“Thank you.” I thanked him once more, not turning around and I hurriedly stepped out of the room closing the door behind me. I stayed there for a moment waiting for my cheeks to lose their redness before I entered the room the group of ronin were in. Feeling more comfortable doing so now I knew someone was nearby. I was admittedly unsure if Sakamoto-san would come to my rescue if they caught me but his presence still made me feel safer about going in there. 

I was relatively confident they wouldn’t suspect a thing after all they were likely drunk by now and Yamazaki-san had told me before the mission had started that I had an innocent air about me and because of that people were more likely to let their guard down. 

Both things seemed to hold true as when I entered the room the men had clearly been drinking for a while and were all drunk. They answered my questions with little hesitation thanks to a combination of that and thinking I couldn’t possible be up to anything judging by what one of the men had told me before he started telling me about their plans to attack the Shinsengumi headquarters.

With that information I focused on finding an opportunity to leave so I could inform Saito-san and Yamazaki-san about their plans. “Um… the bottle is empty… I shall go get a new one.” I told them inching backwards, standing up and walking as calmly as I could out of the room. 

What I wasn’t expecting was one of them to follow me out of the room. I took one look at the expression on his face and backed up. “How about you come with me? We’ll have a good time.” He stepped closer and I backed up even more.

  
“I-I don’t want to. Please leave me alone.”  
  


“Aw, don’t be like that.” The ronin said making a grab for me I released a scream and slapped his hand away, stumbling backwards into the wall behind me. 

“Oi, is that any way to treat a lady?” Sakamoto-san interjected stepping in between me and the man, pushing him backwards in the process.

“You are… Sakamoto Ryouma!” 

“That’s right but not the point. Can’t you see she doesn’t like that? Leave her alone.” Sakamoto-san told him, he seemed relaxed but… his hand was resting on his sword, perhaps as a warning but it also indicated he was ready to fight should he need to. 

It was clear the man had noticed it too as he stepped backwards and placed his hand on his sword but made no move to draw it. Clearly he didn’t want to fight. Maybe the man couldn't fight Sakamoto-san without facing some kind of repercussion for doing so? That was the reason the Shinsengumi didn't do anything so perhaps he couldn't for the same reason.

“...Fine.” The man huffed and returned to the room he came from, I released a sigh of relief. 

“You alright?” Sakamoto-san asked me turning to face me, his serious air was still up. I guess he didn’t want to go back to being more lighthearted until he was assured that I was okay.

I nodded. “I’m fine. Thank you for helping me.” I bowed to him in gratitude once more. 

“Aw, no need to thank me. It wouldn’t have been right of me to let that continue.” Sakamoto-san told me, afterwards his serious expression shifted back into the lighthearted one I was so familiar with. “However, if you must thank me-”

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Yamazaki-san’s voice. “Yukimura-kun are you alright?” Yamazaki-san asked me, him and Saito-san glaring at Sakamoto-san.

“Ah, you’ve got it all wrong! Sakamoto-san was just protecting me!” I told them stepping in front of them to try to appease them. I didn’t want any trouble between them especially since Sakamoto-san hadn’t done anything wrong. I quickly explained what had happened and they eased up.

“Well, I should be taking my leave. Hope to see you soon, Chizuru.” 

  
“Y-yes. Goodbye Sakamoto-san.” I looked towards him and gave him a smile. With that Sakamoto-san waved and left, I waved back while Yamazaki-san and Saito-san stood quietly off to the side. As soon as he was gone they asked me what I had learned from the ronin, the information I had gathered was enough to mobilise on and the ronin were captured without a hitch from there. 

* * *

I was walking back to the Shinsengumi compounds after having dropped off the kimono I had borrowed for the mission with Kimigiku-san when I, quite literally, bumped into Sakamoto-san.

“Whoa there, you okay?” He asked me after having caught me, preventing me from hitting the ground. 

“Sakamoto-san, you’re still here?” I asked, so surprised to see him again so soon that I forgot to thank him for catching me or answer his question.

He didn’t seem to mind though as he just grinned. “Course, I said I’d see you again soon, didn’t I?”

“Well, yes, but I didn’t think you meant this soon.” I told him, I rarely ever saw him so soon after the last time I did, usually there was quite a bit of time in between. 

“Hmmm, but damn, you were beautiful that night. Too bad I probably won’t see you dressed up like that again anytime soon.” I blushed, this time I didn’t have my back to him, and he could absolutely see it. I found myself not minding too much though. Of course Sakamoto-san had already told me he liked it and he said things like this often, that didn’t change how it made me feel, I still found my heart beating faster every time. 

“But the Shinsengumi are bastards. Making a woman do their work like that.” Sakamoto-san huffed and I rushed to clear up some facts to him. 

“Actually, Sakamoto-san, I volunteered. I was doing it because I wanted to help them. They didn't make me do anything.” Sakamoto-san hummed, he still seemed a little annoyed but he must have accepted the explanation because he didn’t say anything more about it. 

“Well, would you like to go get some dango with me?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Huh? Oh no, I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to get back to headquarters.” I shook my head, I wanted to but I couldn’t. The Shinsengumi were expecting me back I just didn’t have the time to get dango with Sakamoto-san.

“...Alright. S’pose I don’t really have the time either. I’d be pushing it.” Sakamoto-san told me, I blinked.

“You’re leaving soon?” I asked, disappointment must have been clear in my voice because Sakamoto-san smiled at me. His smile was a cross between teasing and disappointment of his own, did Sakamoto-san want to stay a little longer too? If so that made me happy.

“We’ll see each other again soon enough, I’ll make sure to write to you yeah. Next time we meet we should go get that dango.” 

I gave him a smile of my own. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories of the Shinsengumi 2 for Hachiro Iba. Ibachi. Reuploaded to One Shots of the Collecting Blossom.

“Iba-san you’re here too?” I asked sitting next to him. I certainly hadn’t expected to see him here, waiting in the room that had requested me along with Kondou-san, Harada-san, Nagakura-san and Heisuke-kun. He simply stared at me in response. “Iba-san?”

Iba-san blinked a few times and answered me. “Yes, they invited me out for a drink when we bumped into each other earlier.” Ah so it was just a coincidence. That must be why Iba-san was staring at me earlier, if he had no prior knowledge to what was going on, of course he would be surprised to see me dressed like this. “You look beautiful.”

“Beautiful? You think I’m… beautiful?” I repeated his words. Of course this was far from the first time Iba-san had complimented me but it still surprised me to hear those words. Maybe it was because I thought of myself as rather plain looking, maybe it was because of the way those words made me feel, I wasn’t really sure. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, I was merely telling you the truth." Iba-san gave me a warm smile and my heart pounded in my chest. Those words and Iba-san's smile made me really happy. 

"Oh my, I think we should go guys. Give these two a moment to themselves." Harada-san spoke up and I looked over to him, my face red, out of the corner of my eye I could see Iba-san’s face turning red as well. 

“Yes, if you could, I would appreciate some time alone with her.” His voice was as calm as it always was as he smiled over at Harada-san. If it weren’t for the blush covering his cheeks I would have thought Iba-san hadn’t been affected by the comment at all. 

“Iba-san?!” I exclaimed, my face growing even hotter at his request, did he really want to spend time alone with me? Of course I noticed he seemed to enjoy my company, he had spent time alone with me before and he definitely seemed to have enjoyed that time he spent with me but surely Harada-san and the others were better company than I was. 

“Hahahaha, it seems like we’re unwelcome. Come on men, we should let them have some time to themselves.” Kondo-san laughed and stood up; Harada-san, Nagakura-san and Heisuke-kun following suit. They all walked out of the room, Heisuke-kun a little more reluctant than the others. He seemed upset about something, I hope he’s okay. 

The door closed and slowly I turned to look at Iba-san once more, I gave him a nervous smile, this was far from the first time I’d been alone with him but something about tonight felt different. My heart was pounding frantically in my chest and my face felt like it was only getting warmer, why is simply being alone with Iba-san doing this to me now?

“Chizuru-chan, are you okay?” Iba-san was frowning in concern and I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

“Oh, yes. I’m fine, I was just lost in thought that’s all. It’s nothing to worry about.” I hurried to reassure him, not wanting him to worry about me, especially if it was over something so silly. Besides it wasn’t like it was bothering me or anything, I was just… confused. 

I guess I didn’t sound too convincing as Iba-san just seemed to grow more concerned. “Are you sure? Did you want them to stay? Did something happen?” Iba-san’s voice wasn’t as calm as it usually was, now it had a slightly panicked tint to it. 

“N-no! Nothing like that! I was just thinking about something, really!” I told him, giving him a smile that I hoped looked reassuring to calm him down. “Nothing bad has happened, I’m just trying to figure something out.” 

Thankfully my reassurances seemed to work as Iba-san took a breath and the panicked tint to his voice was gone. “I see. I apologise it seems I overreacted.” Iba-san flushed and averted his gaze from mine.

I shook my head at his apology. As much as I didn’t want Iba-san to worry about me, it didn’t change the fact that his concern over me made me feel really happy. “It’s okay. You were just worried about me. It makes me happy.” 

“Ah, that’s good.” He smiled at me, notably relieved, before his expression turned serious. “Would you like to talk about it? I might be able to help you out.” 

“No thank you. I’m sure I can figure it out by myself.” I told him, normally I would have probably accepted that offer but considering Iba-san was the source… I didn’t want him to know what I had been trying to figure out. 

“I understand. If you ever change your mind, let me know, I’ll be glad to help.” 

“Yes, thank you, Iba-san.” 

“I saw the Shinsengumi coming out of here.” A voice spoke up from the other side of the door, both Iba-san and I quickly turned to look at the door, frowning. “Maybe there’s still some inside.”

“Only one way to find out.” Iba-san moved in front of me pushing me behind him so whoever was on the other side of the door couldn’t get to me without going through him first. Iba-san was a skilled warrior on par with the likes of Okita-san so I had no doubt he could easily handle the men that probably weren’t up to anything good. 

The door opened and a group of men walked in. "Are you with the Shinsengumi?" 

"No one here is part of the Shinsengumi." Iba-san told them, I nodded my head in confirmation. Iba-san was a okuzume working for the Shogunate, he was an ally of the Shinsengumi but not a member. I may have been living with them but I wasn't an official member and even if I was I was currently disguised as a Geisha at the sumi, I had to keep appearances up. 

"Oi, idiot. What makes you think he'd be truthful about it?" One man slapped the man that had previously spoken upside the head. 

"I am Hachiro Iba, a okuzume working for the Shogun. What is your business with the Shinsengumi?" Iba-san's voice was even as he glared at them, they flinched slightly. They may have been willing to mess with the Shinsengumi but messing with Iba-san was a different story for them apparently. 

"Nothing in particular. Just wanted to talk that's all." They changed their tone rather fast, because Iba-san was closer to the Shogun no doubt. It was too risky to mess with him directly. 

"I doubt that." Iba-san told them sceptically. I already knew they were plotting something against the Shinsengumi but these men were so obviously lying that I was sure I would be able to tell they weren't telling the truth even without that knowledge. 

"You're plotting to attack the Shinsengumi's headquarters aren't you?" I accused them; of course I wasn't positive that was what they're plan was but it was probably among the most likely. If it wasn't I hoped they'd slip and tell us what they were up to. 

"How did you…!" One man started before his eyes widened and he cut himself off. It was too late. 

"So you are." Iba-san stated standing up and drawing his sword. "I can't let you do that." 

It didn't take long for Iba-san to subdue and capture the ronin, the Shinsengumi took over after that and the rest of their comrades were quickly taken care of. The planned raid of the Shinsengumi headquarters was stopped before it even began.

* * *

  
“Good morning, Chizuru-chan.” I turned around at the voice, Iba-san was walking up to me, waving his hand. A couple of days had passed since the ronin were successfully stopped and captured.

“Good morning, Iba-san.” I greeted him, returning his smile. He sat down on the porch and I sat next to him after he indicated for me to do so. “What brings you here today, Iba-san?”

“I came here to give you this, Chizuru-chan.” Iba-san told me pulling something out of his kimono sleeve and handing it to me. 

I took it from him and opened it to find some castella. “Oh thank you so much but… why did you come all the way here to give this to me?” I asked, I had heard Iba-san had to leave soon so he was surely busy and yet he took some time to come give me some castella. 

“Well I took all the credit for the mission. I felt you deserved some kind of reward.” A reward? I didn’t really mind the fact I didn’t get any credit, it was to be expected after all, no one was supposed to know I was actually a woman. I was about to tell him as such when… “Besides, I like seeing you happy.” He added.

I flushed, what I was going to say to him was forgotten. I wasn’t surprised to hear that exactly, I was Iba-san’s childhood friend and of course he would like to see his friend happy but that didn’t stop my heart from pounding in response. He just meant that in a friend way right? Or did he… No, there was no reason to think he meant it in any other way. 

“I would have liked to take you out instead but unfortunately I don’t have enough time for that.” Iba-san sounded disappointed, I shook my head. What he had already done for me was enough, I was happy.

“That’s okay. I like your gift.” I told him, he gave me a bright smile in response and stood up. I felt a little disappointed at that. I guess he has to leave now, I understood that but… I wanted him to stay a little longer. I shook my head again, no good would come out of thinking like that. I didn’t want to bother Iba-san with my desires while he was so busy. 

“Well, I’m afraid I have to leave now.” Iba-san told me. I nodded and stood up myself, I hoped the smile on my face didn’t look too strained. “Let’s go out somewhere next time okay?”

“Yes!” I was sad that I wouldn’t see Iba-san for a while but the thought of going out with him when we next had the opportunity really cheered me up. I was looking forward to next time. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories of the Shinsengumi 2 for Kazue Souma. Souchi. Reuploaded to One Shots of the Collecting Blossom.

Yamazaki-san and Saito-san had left to gather some more information, leaving Souma-kun and I alone in the room. He stared at me, his face red. 

"Souma-kun?" I prompted tilting my head in question. Why was he staring at me like that? He jolted and turned his gaze away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare, Yukimura-senpai!” Now Souma-kun’s eyes darted around. I could tell he was trying to look me in the eyes while we were talking but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. 

"It's alright but why were you staring?" I looked down at my kimono and moved my hands to my face to check for anything out of place. "Is there something on my face?" 

"Ah no, it's nothing like that! There's nothing wrong!" Souma-kun shook his head rapidly in denial. So that wasn't it, if there was something out of place Souma-kun would have mentioned it just now but he didn't so it was something else. 

Then… What could it be? There was really only one other thing I could think of. "Do you… Think I look pretty?" I asked nervously. 

Souma-kun said nothing only turning his face away from me, giving up attempting to look me in the eyes. I flinched, of course that wasn't it. Souma-kun likely thought I looked unnatural dressed like this. 

"I'm sorry I-" 

About to apologise for my assumption I was abruptly cut of by Souma-kun, who appeared not to have noticed I was saying something, "Yes." He still refused to look at me instead his eyes focused on the ground but his cheeks burned even hotter and I could feel my own start to flush. 

“Thank you.” Thinking about it I suppose these kinds of clothes could make most people look pretty but even so the fact that Souma-kun thought I looked pretty in such a fancy get-up and not unnatural or plain made me really happy. 

“Um, Yukimura-senpei-” Souma-kun was abruptly cut off when a boisterous voice coming from nearby laughed. 

“Those Shinsengumi rats are gonna get it!” The man was clearly talking to someone so there were at least two people there, his words were slurred so he was clearly drunk, hopefully the same could be said for the person or people accompanying him. 

Souma-kun frowned in the direction of the door and quickly but quietly moved to block me from the door. Neither of us had any way of knowing if those men would enter this room but it would be best to be cautious, if they found out either of us were part of the Shinsengumi there would surely be a fight. 

“Yeah! They won’t know what hit ‘em when we raid their headquarters!” Another voice answered laughing, as far as I could tell there seemed to only be two people there, that was good. The less people there are the better, if there was a fight it would be best if Souma-kun and I weren’t too outnumbered. 

They were definitely apart of the group I had been sent to investigate but how did they get here? Saito-san and Yamazaki-san had left to gather more information on that group, there’s no way they would have let two people just walk right out. I had concluded that they must have left the room before Saito-san and Yamazaki-san had gotten there when the door opened revealing the two men we had heard talking in the hallway.

“Eh, there’s people here already?” The first men noticed us immediately, we were kind of hard to miss we were sat in the middle of the room staring straight at them. 

“Oi! Leave.” The second stepped into the room followed by his companion and stood over us, glaring. Souma-kun glared back and got to his feet, staring down the much larger men in front of him. I stood up and gave them a glare of their own, though I certainly wasn’t what one would call intimidating, so I doubted it had much of an effect.

“Hahahahaha, isn’t that sweet?” One man laughed mockingly. “They think they can intimidate us.”  
  


“Ha, they’re so puny they couldn’t do shit to us!” The other joined his companion in his laughter, they both seemed to find our attempts laughable. In some ways, I supposed, that was a good thing. They were underestimating us and that would give us an advantage. 

“I am Kazue Souma of the Shinsengumi. Did I hear you say you were going to attack the Shinsengumi headquarters?” 

The men just laughed harder at that. “Ha, never heard of you. The Shinsengumi aren’t as intimidating as they say if this brat is allowed in their ranks.”  
  


“But if he’s a part of the Shinsengumi…”

“Yeah, let’s get rid of him. We can’t have him telling his superiors what he heard tonight.”

They were awfully arrogant and didn’t seem too bothered by the fact they had been caught, Souma-kun didn’t have much of a reputation for himself and it was true he didn’t look all that intimidating, so maybe that was why. However Souma-kun wasn’t a bad swordsman and he definitely had the advantage in this fight. I had full confidence he could take care of himself.

“Yukimura-senpei, please allow me to handle this.” He asked me unsheathing the sword at his hip as the two burly men did the same. 

“Yes.” I agreed and stepped away from him, if I stayed where I was, I would surely be in the way of the fight that was about to break out. I didn’t have my kodachi with me and I wouldn’t be of much help in a sword fight without it. Though my self-defence training wouldn’t really do much good in an actual fight anyway, I definitely wouldn’t be able to help without a sword or some kind of weapon on me. Of course should Souma-kun need help I would try everything in my power to do so. 

The two men were moving rather quickly and precisely for how drunk they were but Souma-kun who wasn’t so much as tipsy moved much faster. The two men were clearly much bigger and stronger but Souma-kun was able to move much faster so that meant little in this fight and Souma-kun easily disarmed them both. 

“So what were you saying about attacking the Shinsengumi headquarters?” Souma-kun asked them his sword pointed at them, he was ready to move if they tried to make a grab for their swords.

“Souma, I will take it from here.” Saito-san appeared in the doorway and Souma-kun nodded in acknowledgement sheathing his sword. Yamazaki-san wasn’t with him so I assume he was either still in the room these men had likely come from or had gone to report to headquarters.

“You were great, Souma-kun.” I complimented him when he came to stand beside me as we waited for Saito-san to deal with the drunken men that Souma-kun had defeated. 

He smiled at me and I smiled back. I guess it was mission accomplished, if Saito-san was here I guess that must mean they’d gotten the information they were after and if they hadn’t they could get it from these two. So either way the men that were planning to attack headquarters had been stopped.

* * *

A few days after the group of men planning to attack headquarters were caught I was cleaning outside with Souma-kun and Nomura-kun on the grass nearby, they had just finished training and were now discussing how it had gone.

“Hey that reminds me. Souma, Yukimura-senpei, you never did tell me all about that mission you guys were sent on.” Nomura sat up and looked back and forth between the two of us, pouting. “I heard you took out two men all by yourself, Souma. That’s amazing!”  
  


“Ah, it really wasn’t all that impressive. I just had an advantage over them, that's all.” Souma answered, waving off the praise his friend was giving him. 

I frowned. Sure Souma-kun had the advantage but that didn’t make what he did any less impressive. “I thought you were pretty impressive, Souma-kun. I certainly couldn’t have done that.”

“Ah, but you didn’t have a sword Yukimura-senpai and you aren’t a warrior. That’s different.” Souma-kun told me, while both of those things were true, it certainly didn’t mean Souma-kun hadn’t done well.

“You’re the one that caught them Souma-kun, you did well. Even Saito-san said so, remember?” I reminded him, Saito-san had told Souma-kun he had done a good job in disarming them before he got there, I was hoping Saito-san’s words would do a better job of convincing him then mine did. 

“Yeah I remember. Still I wish I could have done… more you know?” I hummed, I knew how that felt. Souma-kun had done well and it seemed like he knew that but he wanted to have done better, admittedly I felt much the same way. 

“I… You, Saito-san and Yamazaki-san caught them but all I did was bring you information that wasn’t even enough. You did far more than I did Souma-kun. So don’t worry alright?” Souma-kun’s head shot up to look at me, his eyes wide.

  
“N-no! Yukimura-senpei did more than enough! You confirmed they were planning something and you told Saito-san and Yamazaki-san where they were located and you dressed as a Geisha to get it. You were really brave to do that!” Souma-kun rushed to reassure me, I smiled. I could hear the sincerity behind his voice, he wasn’t just saying that, he genuinely believed I’d done a good job.

“Thank you but Souma-kun if I did a good job then you did an amazing job, okay?” I looked him in the eye as I said that and he blinked a couple of times in response.

  
“Hey Souma, you gonna accept the credit now or does she need to start listing all your accomplishments.” Nomura teased him patting him on the back good-naturally. 

“...Yes, thank you.” Finally Souma-kun smiled, Nomura-kun and I smiled in turn, both glad he seemed happier with what he had accomplished during the mission. 

“So, Yukimura-senpai, what was it like to dress as a Geisha?” Nomura-kun asked me, I blinked not expecting that question in the slightest. 

“Hmm, it was a little strange, I’m not used to wearing such fancy clothing. Even when I wasn’t dressed as a man, the kimonos I wore were all rather simple. I’ve never worn make-up before either.” I told them thinking back to my experience, I didn’t dislike it, far from it, but I wasn’t sure if I’d ever dress up like that again unless it was for another mission. I didn’t feel like those kinds of clothes suited me at all.

“Yukimura-senpai was very pretty but I think Yukimura-senpai looks pretty the way she is too.” I gasped and my eyes went red, I felt my face getting hot. Did Souma-kun really think I looked pretty like this? He had said it rather quietly so maybe I misheard it but I was sure that was what I had heard.

“Um, can you repeat that?” I asked hesitantly, wanting to confirm what he had just said about me.

“Oh, well, er…” Souma-kun didn’t seem to want to repeat what he had said, I wasn’t entirely sure why or rather I didn’t want to get my hopes up with the reason I had come up with. I opened my mouth, about to tell him it didn’t matter, when Nomura-kun answered for him.

“He said you look pretty the way you are.” Nomura-kun grinned, looking over at Souma-kun with a teasing glint in his eye. So I had heard him right after all, that made me really happy. As Nomura-kun continued to tease Souma-kun I continued cleaning, a feeling of bliss took over me as I began to hum.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji reminded her of a cat. Post-Souji’s Route. Okichi.

As her husband stretched across her lap she stroked her hand through his hair with one of her hands while stroking a cat lying next to her with the other. Chizuru looked between the two and giggled. 

“Hmmm, what is it Chizuru?” He yawned as he asked this, the cat following suit. She laughed more at the sight. 

“I was just thinking you’re awfully like a cat.” It wasn’t the first time she’d thought that about him but it was the first time she was mentioning it to her husband. 

Souji pushed himself up until he was face to face with her and pressed his nose to her’s. “Oh, really? Tell me more.” He prompted as he buried his face into her neck. She could feel his grin pressed against her skin.

“Ah well…” She should have known this would happen. “You do seem to like getting pet.” There was more to it than that of course but that is what had ended up coming out as an explanation. 

“True.” Souji nodded as his hands moved to brush through her hair, a smile crossed her lips at the feeling. “But so do you. Does that mean Chizuru-chan is cat-like too?” 

Chizuru’s brows furrowed as she thought about his question. “Hmm, I don’t think so? I’d certainly never thought of myself that way.” 

“That’s true, cats aren’t the only ones that like getting pet. So there must be something else about me that’s cat-like huh?” Souji pulled away from her neck and settled his head back down in her lap. She probably should have known this would happen too.

“...Um, Souji-san also yawns like a cat..” Chizuru told him, he didn’t say anything in response choosing instead to grin at her. “And your grin! That reminds me of a cat too!” 

“Does it? Those are some interesting points.” The more she said the more Souji’s amusement seemed to grow. 

The cat next to her pushed her face into her hand wanting the attention she had been receiving back. Chizuru looked down at the cat and smiled. “And you do that!” She told him as she returned to stroking the cat. 

“Hmmm you know, you remind me of an animal too.” Souji told her as her focus turned to the cat beside her. He had waited a moment for her to say more but she did not, either she had gotten distracted or she didn’t have anything more to say. 

“Really? What’s that?” She asked, though she didn’t turn her attention back to him. That wouldn’t do!

“A mouse.” He declared as he pushed his wife down so she was lying on her back. Making a meowing sound as he did. He was sure the squeak that had left her mouth hadn’t been intentional but it sure fit what he had just said. “And do you know what cats do to mice?” He asked as his cat-like, as his lovely wife had described it, grin returned to his face.

He placed a kiss to her lips.

"They chase them!" He exclaimed as he pushed himself of her. "You better run, Chizuru-chan. Wouldn't want me to catch you!"

"Huh?" Chizuru blinked, she hadn't been expecting that.

"What's wrong? Were you expecting me to say somehting else?" Of course Souji had caught her confusion and likely knew exactly what she had thought he was going to say.

"N-no! Of course not!" Chizuru denied it in spite of that knowledge though. She hurriedly pushed herself to her feet and bolted out the room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone has seen her heal again, she didn't want him to look at her differently like they had. Movieverse. Hijichi. It also references a moment from Iba's Kyoto Winds route.

"Here's your tea, Hijikata-san." Chizuru placed the tea on his desk, on the one part of it not covered by documents, and looked up at him. She had wanted to ask him something since last night when he found out about her... powers but she hadn't wanted to bother him while he was busy and she also just hadn't been able to work up her nerve. How would he react to the request she wanted to make?

"Thanks." He didn't so much as glance at her as he continued to write. He waited a moment as he felt her gaze upon him, intially thinking she'd just gotten lost in thought over something. But as he spared a glance over at her he noticed signs of hesitation. Perhaps then she was staring because she had something to say. "Is there something else?"

She jumped not having expected him to say anything. "No!" She shouted instinctively. "...I mean yes." She corrected herself, if she didn't ask now she'd probably never get up the nerve again.

"Go on." Hijikata turned back to his documents but his words let her know he was listening to what she had to say.

"Please... no matter what... please don't look at me differently."

There was silence for a moment. "Huh?" Hijikata paused what he was doing once more as he looked at her in confusion.

Understanding he had no idea what she was talking about Chizuru took a deep breath as she prepared herself to elabarate. She couldn't back down now, then she would have interrupted Hijikata for nothing.

"Last night... I don't want to be looked at differently agai- because of what you saw."

Had she been about to say 'again'? Hijikata put down his quill and fully turned to look at her, her head was bowed as she refused to look at him. Had he looked at her differently that night? Had Sanan? Or was this about someone else? 

"Did I look at you differently?" He asked, she immediately tensed up. 

"No! That's not it!" She exclaimed, her panicked gaze meeting his own. She fell silent for a moment and then...

"It was a long time ago. Back then I... Didn't know. To hide my powers, I mean. I didn't know anyone would react like that. I fell and I cut my hand, my friends at the time saw and..."

They reacted badly. He'd thought something like that was likely what had happened.

"Concern turned to fear. They called me a monster, ran away, I didn't understand what was happening." Chizuru closed her eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. "The next time I saw them they looked at me with hatred in their eyes. More than their actions that day, it was their expressions I feared the most."

"I won't look at you any differently, no matter what happens. I promise you that." She had turned away from him again so he grabbed her chin to guide her to meet his gaze once more.

She smiled. "Thank you." 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inoue adopts Chizuru. AU. I may write some more for this AU.

Chizuru looked up at the two men as the man that had found her told the other about the situation. 

"I see. I'll be happy to help." The other man, Kondou, she had been told nodded. "There's a lot to cover on your own, shall we split up tomorrow?" 

"I'll help too." The boy she had sat beside, Okita, announced.

"Ah, thank you Souji. The more help, the better." Kondou smiled at him thankfully. 

They had been unsuccessful that day but they had agreed to keep searching until they'd exhausted all their options. Until then Inoue was going to look after her. 

* * *

They had been unable to find her parents or anyone who knew of her for that matter. They returned to Shiei Hall with just as little information as they did for the last week.

"What will we do with her if we never find anyone?" Souji asked bluntly on the way back, Chizuru's eyes widened and she looked at Souji before her gaze, becoming panicked, moved up to Inoue.

He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll do everything we can to find someone, Chizuru-chan."

She didn't look reassured at all as she frowned. "But... What if you don't?"

Inoue was silent for a moment. He kneeled down. "I've been looking after you while we search for them, haven't I?" She nodded. "And I will continue looking after you if we don't find them."

"Really?" Chizuru didn't mind the possibility they'd never find her family, really. She didn't remember them at all and it was hard to miss those you didn't remember. She hoped they were alright, of course, but without her memories her family were as good as strangers to her.

"Yes, if that's what you want. I want you to know there are other options if it's what you would prefer." 

Chizuru shook her head, she had taken a liking to Inoue and Kondou and Okita. "I would like to stay!"

"Then stay you shall." Chizuru smiled, relieved and happy.

* * *

"Um..." Chizuru refused to look up to meet her now Father's eyes. "Would... Can I... Maybe call you Tou-sama?" She thought it would be alright, he had adopted her (he had said that it meant he was her father now) so it would be natural to refer to him as such but... She couldn't help but worry. 

For a moment Chizuru thought her Father was going to cry. At first she was worried but... When she noticed his smile she thought they might be tears of happiness. "Of course, though you don't have to be quite so formal."

"Is... Otou-san, okay?" She asked, a grin spreading across her face. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souji and Chizuru get set up on a date. Blind Date AU. Modern AU. Okichi.

* * *

"Come on, Souji. At least give it a shot. If you don't like it, we'll never set you up on another date again."

Souji sighed. "Fine." He had known from the start he was likely going to give in, it was a request from Kondou after all, but that hadn't stopped him from protesting. "I'll do it." But he doubted he was going to like it, not that he was going to say anything to Kondou. Souji wondered who or what had given him the idea, and how he knew the girl he had set him up with. Souji had never heard the name 'Chizuru Yukimura' before, so whoever it was, it couldn't be someone Kondou knew all that well. An acquaintence? A friend of a friend? He supposed it didn't really matter in the end. Either way he would have to go on a date with her.

* * *

The date was set up in a cafe. Souji sighed, that would mean he'd have to talk to her. Why couldn't it have been the Cinema? He walked towards the cafe and spotted her before he had even entered. He had been shown a picture of her so she'd be easy to find, he assumed she was also shown a picture of him but he had no proof of that. She was standing outside, arguing with who was likely her brother.

"It'll be fine, really. I may not know the guy but I do know people who do. Ibuki-kun, Harada-san, Nagakura-san and Heisuke-kun all know him really well. He's not dangerous." Ah, that answered the question of how Kondou had gotten the idea, it almost certainly came from one or all of the Baka Trio. He doubted Ibuki would pull something like this after all, at least not without getting dragged along. It sounded like she didn't know Kondou personally, if she had she would have mentioned him, though she likely knew the name and had possibly even talked to him at some point for this whole thing to be set up.

"They're dangerous too! You absolutely can't trust them!" Her brother had exclaimed in response. Had he followed her all the way here trying to convince her not to come? Judging from the sigh that left her, she had likely heard this all before.

"What about Shizu-chan and Osen-chan then? They know him too and they didn't say I shouldn't." Chizuru tried again to calm her brother. That surprised him a little, he did know Shizu and Sen, but they didn't exactly like him. It was surprising to hear they'd approved. He would have expected them to convince her otherwise but it didn't sound like they had. Then again they likely recognised that it was her decision to make in the end and didn't interfere. They probably had, however, told her how much they didn't like him.

"They didn't seem pleased to me. They said themselves they don't like him." Ah, indeed they had. "Besides I don't exactly trust them either."

"Kaoru, you don't trust anyone. They may have expressed dislike for him but if they thought I would be in any danger, they would have said so. You might not trust them but I do." Chizuru's exppression turned stern. Even so she did not seem angry, she had a lot of patience and he supposed that was a good thing. She was going to need a lot of that, if she was going to be dealing with him, he knew that well. He didn't mind this girl, still wasn't interested in dating her of course, but he supposed she might end up being fun to hang out with. "I trust my friends, all of them, and they wouldn't allow me to come to any harm if they could help it."

Chizuru's expression softened once more. "I know you're worried about me but I promise everything will be just fine." She grabbed her brother's hand and smiled. "I'll call you afterwards, alright. And you can stay nearby if it'll make you feel better."

There was silence for a moment as her brother thought. "...Fine." He aquiesed and turned around.

Chziuru's smile widened. "Nii-san, thank you."

"Just be careful."

Chizuru nodded her head. "I will." Kaoru walked away.

Souji waited until he was out of sight to approach her. "Hey, you're Chizuru-chan, right?"

"Huh?" She whirled around in surprise and stared at him for a moment. "Yes, that's me. You must be Okita-san. It's nice to meet you." Chizuru looked away for a moment, in the direction her brother had left, he noticed. "Did you, uh, see all that?"

"Yeah, it was a little hard not to notice, you know."

She sighed and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, this is a bit of an awkward start, isn't it?"

"At least it's not boring." He shrugged, he was thankful for it honestly.

She blinked and a laugh escaped her lips. "I guess that's true."

"Alright, first things first." His expression turned serious and hers followed suit. "I'm not interested in dating you, so don't get any ideas."

To his surprise she released a breath of relief upon hearing that. "Oh that's good, I'm not particularly interested in dating a stranger either."

"If you weren't interested then why did you agree to this." Of course he did too but he didn't see why she would.

"Ah, well Osen-chan and Shizu-chan have been trying to get me to go on a date for a while now. So it was partially for them." Partially? Which meant there was more to it then that. "But I also agreed because I just couldn't bring myself to turn down the man on the phone."

"...Kondou-san?" Souji guessed, he'd figured Kondou would have at least talked to the girl, and since Chizuru didn't seem familiar with 'the man on the phone' he figured Kondou was the most likely possibility.

She nodded. "Yes, he sounded so hopeful, I just couldn't turn him down." She told him before she turned the question on him. "I could ask the same of you though, why did you agree if you aren't interested?"

"Ah, well I suppose it's only fair if I tell you." He really should have seen this coming. "Kondou-san asked me so I agreed to try at least this once."

"I see. You must be very close then." Souji nodded but said no more, he wasn't about to share too much with this stranger after all. She seemed to pick up that he wasn't going to say anymore as she gestured towards the cafe. "Should we go inside then? And actually do what we came here for."

"Date?"

She shook her head. "No eat. That is what a cafe is for, isn't it? Well that and drinking."

"True." Souji smiled, he was getting along with this girl. If this continued to go as well as it was, he'd have to hang out with her some other time.

* * *

"Souji, How did it go?" Kondou called him shortly after he returned home to ask him about the date. 

"It wasn't terrible, I liked her. But I don't want to date her, I'm not interested in dating strangers." Souji replied, Kondou hummed on the other side of the call.

"I see. At least you had fun. Thank you for trying this, Souji." Kondou thanked him, Souji smiled. "Will you see her again, as a friend?" 

"Probably. I considered it enough to get her number, at least." He was grateful now, that the date wasn't located somewhere they wouldn't talk to each other. He definitely wouldn't be interested in seeing her again if that had been the case.

"That's great. I only talked to her briefly but she seemed like a great girl. She'd be good to have as a friend or otherwise, Souji."

Souji gave a short laugh. "Just don't hold out too much hope on that 'otherwise', Kondou-san."

* * *

When they ended up dating, he didn't miss the irony of those words back then. Neither did Kondou. "Well, looks that otherwise ended up happening, didn't it?" Kondou laughed as he teased him.

"Well, I didn't say it _wouldn't_ happen." Souji rebuked, giving a laugh of his own.

"No, but you did imply you didn't think it would."

"At the time I really didn't. But as I spent more time with her, I found myself rethinking that. I found myself really wanting to be with her in a way I didn't think I ever would back then." The joking tone dropped as Souji talked. "Thank you, Kondou-san. If it wasn't for you, I never would have met her." Of course he recognised there were others behind that blind date, he was a little more reluctant to thank them, but he knew he really should.

"It was no problem. I'm glad you're happy Souji, Yukimura-san as well, of course. Make sure to thank the others, alright?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chizuru's healing is found out. Set in the Inoue adopts Chizuru AU. A new One Shot a day after the last one doesn't usually happen but it did this time.

A surprisingly long amount of time had passed before her adoptive father and her friends at Shiei Hall found out about her powers. Of course she hadn't known anything was different about herself at the time, so when she saw herself heal, she didn't see a need to either hide it or mention it. She wasn't injured anymore, so there was no need to make them worry. Until that day, she had yet to get injured in front of anybody.

"It's okay. This will heal soon." Chizuru told the friends she had made, unconcerned. She had been playing with them when she fell, cutting her arm on an unfortunately placed sharp rock. True to her word, the wound on her arm started to heal but her friends didn't react the way she expected them too. 

"What?!"

"It's gone!"

"Monster!"

They ran away, leaving Chizuru sitting on the ground confused. Monster? "Me?"

* * *

"Chizuru, is something wrong?" Her father asked her, she looked up at him.

"Otou-san... Am I... Am I scary?" She asked slowly, hesitantly.

Inoue's eyes widened. "No, of course not. Why ever would you think that?"

"...It's nothing." If she told him more then wouldn't her father see her that way too? She, more than anything, she didn't want that.

"You don't want to talk about it?" He asked her kneeling down, she shook her head. "I see, then you don't have too. But can you answer me one thing?" She looked up. "Did someone tell you that?"

"...No."

* * *

"Monster!" The kids that had seen her heal came back a few days later, they started throwing rocks at her. She looked back as she shielded her face, if she went inside someone would see her like this, her wounds healing. That was bad.

"Stop that." A familiar voice spoke from behind her, both she and the children froze. Souji was not that much older than her, but he sure could be terrifying when he wanted to be. "Leave her alone." Souji pointed his Shinai at them and they took a step back.

"We should go." One of them told the others to a resounding agreement and they ran away once more.

"Are you alright?" Souji turned to her and she nodded, taking a step back and covering as much of her wounds as she could.

"...Have they all healed?" Souji asked, her head shot up in surprise.

"...Bad?" That single word escaped her mouth, Souji didn't seem mad or scared but...

"Huh?" Souji seemed confused for a moment before realizisation hit. "Is that why they were attacking you?" Souji asked her, Chizuru nodded.

"They were throwing rocks because I'm a monster." That was what they had said.

"That's not true..." Souji told her, she was very happy that Souji was trying to make her feel better, but... "I know! Let's go tell Kondou-san and Gen-san, they'll know what to do." Because he really didn't know how to deal with this. He could protect her from them but he didn't know how to make her feel better. He knew full well that just telling her what they had said wasn't true was unlikely to help much.

"No!" She pulled him back when he tried to bring her inside. "I don't want them to... I don't them to be scared of me!"

"...They won't be. I promise it'll be fine." Chizuru didn't look convinced. "I'm not scared of you, they won't be." She certainly hoped so. She didn't want to keep secrets but at the same time she didn't want to lose them because she didn't keep it to herself.

* * *

When they found Kondou and Inoue, Hijikata was there too. Normally she'd be happy to see Hijikata but right now she was afraid.

"Chizuru? What happened to you?" Inoue rushed towards her the moment he saw the state his daughter was in. She wanted to step back but Souji's grip on her hand prevented her from doing so. Besides it was already too late.

"They healed. They're all gone now." She spoke quietly, knowing they would all find out anyway and maybe... maybe Souji was right and it really would be okay. She really wanted that to be the case.

Eyes widened but it wasn't long before Inoue smiled and began wiping the blood off her face with a cloth. "You aren't in any pain then?" She blinked, that was a good sign, right? If he was asking if she was okay and smiling that meant he didn't hate her, right? She shook her head, the wounds weren't hurting her. "That's good."

Her own eyes widened. "Good? Not bad?"

"Of course it's good. We're all relieved you're not in any pain." It was Kondou who answered, kneeling down beside her and patting her head.

"I don't understand. They called me a monster and monsters are bad."

"Listen, kid. Sometimes people fear what they don't understand. That's why they reacted that way. It has nothing to do with you." Hijikata was the next to respond, as blunt as he usually was, he stayed where he stood and looked her in the eye.

"Really?"

"He's right. Don't worry about it too much, you're not a monster. You're a very good girl, who cares a lot about others. A monster wouldn't be that way." Her father gave her a hug and the tears that she hadn't noticed were gathering fell. She didn't know how long she was crying for but she felt a lot better.

* * *

"Hey Chizuru, could I talk to you for a minute?" Hijikata approached her a few days later, she smiled at him.

"Yes."

"I didn't want to mention this so soon after the... incident but it's better sooner rather than later." Chizuru blinked, Hijikata didn't usually hesitate like that. This had something to do with her powers didn't it? She tensed up at the realisation. "You shouldn't tell anyone about your healing."

"...Why? I thought-"

"Yes, it's not a bad thing. But remember when I said sometimes people fear what they don't understand?" She nodded. "And you saw it yourself, what fear can make people do. That wasn't even the start of how bad it could get."

She shivered. It could be worse? "Sorry, I know hearing that is frightning but I thought it would be better to make sure you understood that." It could be worse. That thought ran in her mind and as young as she was she knew he was right. That was probably the most frightening part of all. She was too young for any of this. 

"You are." Hijikata agreed. Did she say that out loud? "But pretty soon you would have come to that conclusion on your own, right?" He wasn't wrong. She had understood at least that not everyone would react well before Hijikata had ever said anything. How could she not? She had seen as much for herself. She felt it probably wouldn't have been much longer until she thought 'could it get worse?' "That's why I told you this now, I thought it would be easier on you, if you had someone with you."

"So don't tell anyone unless you trust they won't react that way."

"I trusted them but they... What if I tell someone and then they react badly?"

"Then I'll deal with it. Or if I can't, then there's Kondou-san or your father or even Souji. We'll keep you safe." She smiled, this was all very scary but she was glad that she had people that cared for her, they would help her if anything went wrong, she knew that to be the truth.


End file.
